A Couple of Real Gems from the "Harvey and Lee" Website

[Jim Hargrove]

27 minutes ago, Sandy Larsen said:

Bugliosi wrote:  "His marks were rated 'poor' in all categories. However, since the test was designed to assess the proficiency of native speakers and students at the military's rigorous language schools, .... his grades were not that bad."

Given that the test was designed for native speakers, it sounds to me like Oswald understood and spoke Russian like, perhaps, a high school dropout. Or maybe a "hick." Or maybe a 6th grade kid. Which is not bad, really. It could explain how Oswald was reading the masters 2 1/2 years later.

 

If we believe Marina's HSCA testimony, he was reading the Russian masters earlier than that.  The Bugliosi information is fascinating!  Thank you!  Let's do a quick reality check on "Oswald" and the Russian language.

Oswald clearly spoke Russian and read Russian literature in the Marines prior to his false defection to Russia.  In his affidavit of June 6, 1964, Erwin Donald Lewis, stationed with Oswald at MACS-9 in California, swore that “It was a matter of common knowledge among squadron members that he could read, write, and speak Russian.”

While in Russia, Oswald pretended his Russian was so bad he needed a translator.  And yet Marina testified that he privately read “Russian classic writers” in Russian.

Mr. McDONALD. Did he read a lot when he was in the Soviet Union? 
Mrs. PORTER. Yes. 
Mr. McDONALD. What kind of books did he read there? 
Mrs. PORTER. Novels mostly. 
Mr. McDONALD. What kind of novels? 
Mrs. PORTER. What you call maybe as classical novels, some Russian classic writers. 
Mr. McDONALD. The novels or the books that he read in the Soviet Union, were they in Russian?

Mrs. PORTER. They were in Russian; yes.

When he returned to the U.S., the White Russians in and around Dallas were amazed at his fluency in the language attained in the 2-1/2 years he spent there.  In his manuscript I AM A PATSY! I AM A PATSY!  Russian immigrant George De Mohrenschildt, who Harvey in 1963 called his closest friend, described his amazement at Harvey’s Russian fluency.

 

For those who can’t see the graphic above, here’s what the main paragraph from this page of De Mohrenschildt's manuscript says:

Incidentally I never saw him interested in anything else except Russian
books and magazines. He said he didn't want to forget the language -
but it amazed me that he read such difficult writers like Gorki, Dostoevski,
Gogol, Tolstoi and Turgenieff - in Russian . As everyone knows Russian is
a complex language and he was supposed to have stayed in the Soviet Union
only a little over two years . He must have had some previous training and
that point had never been brught up by the Warren Committee - and it is
still puzzling to me. In my opinion Lee was a very bright person but not
a genius. He never mastered the English language yet he learned such a dif-
icult language! I taught Russian at all level in a large University, and
I never saw such a profficiency in the best senior students who constantly
listened to  Russian tapes and spoke to Russian fiends. As a matter of
fact American-born instructors never mastered Russian spoken language as
well as Lee did.

De Mohrenschildt would have made a fascinating witness at the HSCA hearings and, in fact, in early 1977 the HSCA sought to interview him. But on March 30 he was found in his home with a shotgun blast to his head. The last person to see him alive was author Edward Epstein, a close friend of CIA Counterintelligence Chief James Angleton.

Edited August 20, 2017 by Jim Hargrove

[Jim Hargrove]

7 hours ago, Sandy Larsen said:

Michael, Chris, Mathias,

I will try to make it a simple task for you and others to clearly see that Oswald attended two different schools simultaneously during the Fall semester of his 8th grade school year, 1953/54.

Following are what the two school records indicate:

Public School #44, New York City
8th Grade, Fall Semester

Days Present:  62 + 5 half days
Days Absent:  3 + 8 half days
Times Late (Tardy):  1

Total Days of School = 62 + 5 + 3 +8 = 78 days

This information is highlighted in yellow in the upper school record, below.

 

Beauregard Junior High School, New York City
8th Grade, Fall Semester

Days Present:  89 days
Days Absent:  1 day
Tardy:  0

Total Days of School = 89 + 1 = 90 days

This information is highlighted in yellow in the lower school record, below.

 

Comments

I encourage each of you to confirm that what I have written above accurately portrays what is indicated in the two school records. Having done that, there should be no question in your minds that the records do indeed show Oswald attending two schools, located in two different states, at the same time for a period of one semester.

To zoom in on a document, right-click the image and select View Image. Then hold the CTRL keyboard button down while pressing the + key several times.

The Oswald in New York City had a full class schedule, whereas the one in New Orleans took only two classes (General Science and Physical Education). I would guess that either this Oswald had a part time job, or was supervised by a mother who couldn't persuade or force him to take more classesl.

 

School Record:  Public School #44, New York City
The yellow highlighted row indicates Oswald's attendance during his 8th grade Fall semester (fall 1953).
His classes and scores for that semester are given in the right-most column in the middle third of the page.
 

 

 

School Record:  Beauregard Junior High School, New Orleans
The yellow highlighted row indicates Oswald's classes, scores, and attendance during his 8th grade Fall semester (fall 1953).
(The second row shows the same for the Winter semester. The third row shows the totals for the full 8th grade school year.)
 

•  

Isn't it amazing how few people here actually want to discuss the evidence?  Perhaps Mr. Parnell will respond with a link to some nonsense attempting to debunk the obvious, but Mr. Parnell won't be so unwise as to describe the nonsense, because then we could respond directly to him for all to see.  

[Michael Walton]

Michael, Chris, Mathias,

I will try to make it a simple task for you and others to clearly see that Oswald attended two different schools simultaneously during the Fall semester of his 8th grade school year, 1953/54.

Following are what the two school records indicate:

Public School #44, New York City
8th Grade, Fall Semester

Days Present:  62 + 5 half days
Days Absent:  3 + 8 half days
Times Late (Tardy):  1

Total Days of School = 62 + 5 + 3 +8 = 78 days

This information is highlighted in yellow in the upper school record, below.

 

Beauregard Junior High School, New York City
8th Grade, Fall Semester

Days Present:  89 days
Days Absent:  1 day
Tardy:  0

Total Days of School = 89 + 1 = 90 days

This information is highlighted in yellow in the lower school record, below.

 

Comments

I encourage each of you to confirm that what I have written above accurately portrays what is indicated in the two school records. Having done that, there should be no question in your minds that the records do indeed show Oswald attending two schools, located in two different states, at the same time for a period of one semester.

To zoom in on a document, right-click the image and select View Image. Then hold the CTRL keyboard button down while pressing the + key several times.

The Oswald in New York City had a full class schedule, whereas the one in New Orleans took only two classes (General Science and Physical Education). I would guess that either this Oswald had a part time job, or was supervised by a mother who couldn't persuade or force him to take more classesl.

 

School Record:  Public School #44, New York City
The yellow highlighted row indicates Oswald's attendance during his 8th grade Fall semester (fall 1953).
His classes and scores for that semester are given in the right-most column in the middle third of the page.
 

 

 

School Record:  Beauregard Junior High School, New Orleans
The yellow highlighted row indicates Oswald's classes, scores, and attendance during his 8th grade Fall semester (fall 1953).
(The second row shows the same for the Winter semester. The third row shows the totals for the full 8th grade school year.)
 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

To clarify the NYC school was called #44, right? If I'm reading the above correctly there was actually a Beauregard high school in NYC too with the exact same name as well as one in NO? Because listed above you have:

Public School #44, New York City
8th Grade, Fall Semester

and then...

Beauregard Junior High School, New York City
8th Grade, Fall Semester

***

Jim, we ARE talking about the evidence. One piece of your "evidence" that's already been debunked is how you are twisting Sylvia M's evidence that she wrote 50 years ago to prove that someone was setting Oswald up by having someone go around making outrageous claims, and you're twisting and turning this evidence to say, "See, here's more proof of the Harvey and Lee [fantasy]." It's disingenuous and extremely dishonest of you to do this because this is NOT what she means. And I would bet my life on it that this is NOT what she meant.

You're also taking photos of the one and only Oswald and saying, "See, this is the clone." I've already proven way back up in this thread that many of the head and facial features of the so-called clone - when you superimpose them - match up, including the hair line, the curled ears, and the nose. You seem to think that a younger Oswald who filled out and put on a little weight while in the Marines and the later Oswald who got a little older and was not eating as much suddenly morph into two different people. That's not evidence but supposition.

So why is my "evidence" to prove there was only one Oswald always wrong and your evidence to support this fantastical story always right?

 

[Jim Hargrove]

On 8/18/2017 at 5:18 PM, Jim Hargrove said:

From Accessories After the Fact, by Sylvia Meagher, p. 361 (emphasis added):

The Commission’s failure to use its full powers of investigation is to be regretted, not only to establish that the allegations resulted from mistaken identity, if indeed they did, but, more importantly, to rule out the possibility of deliberate impersonation.  Several of the stories evoke the almost irresistible suspicion of impersonation because of the flamboyant and gratuitous care “Oswald” took to call attention to himself in a way that later appeared to incriminate the real Oswald and to implicate the alleged murder rifle.  For the Commission to pursue the evidence of impersonation was of great importance if it meant to evaluate the inferences that would flow from proof of an imposter-Oswald: that there was a plot to kill the President, planned carefully long before the event; that the conspirators were familiar with Oswald’s background and circumstances and had him selected as their fall guy; that Oswald had to be murdered to prevent him from presenting evidence of his innocence, or evidence implicating others; and that the killers of the President were still at large.

The fact that the best of the early researchers clearly believed there were two people using the identity of Lee Harvey Oswald during several months prior to the assassination is undeniable.  The Internet trolls who now pretend to be outraged after being shown clear evidence that two Oswalds existed long before the assassination, when in fact they clearly existed at the time of the assassination, are disturbingly illogical. 

Mr. Walton gets his panties in a twist because we dare to show evidence of Two Oswalds extending to an earlier time than Sylvia Meagher examined when she discussed evidence of an "imposter-Oswald," which she put into the section of her book entitled "Two Oswalds."

The pictures Mr. Walton continuously touts were the arrest picture of Russian-speaking Harvey Oswald and the picture pasted to the passport of Russian-speaking Harvey Oswald.  IF they do show the same person, all Mr. Walton has proved is that John was incorrect when he thought that LEE Oswald's picture was placed on HARVEY Oswald's passport.

How did Oswald attend school simultaneously in New York and New Orleans.  How did Oswald travel by boat to Taiwan at the same time he was being treated for VD in Japan?  Answer those two questions, and we'll move to lots more examples.  Remember, we're only left with material the FBI/WC neglected to cover-up, i.e., mistakes they made.  And they made a LOT. 

[Sandy Larsen]

1 hour ago, Michael Walton said:

To clarify the NYC school was called #44, right? If I'm reading the above correctly there was actually a Beauregard high school in NYC too with the exact same name as well as one in NO? Because listed above you have:

Public School #44, New York City
8th Grade, Fall Semester

and then...

Beauregard Junior High School, New York City
8th Grade, Fall Semester

Michael,

Thanks for pointing out that error, which I have now corrected. Beauregard Junior High is in New Orleans, not New York City. And yes, PS 44 is what the New York City school is called. Though it is also named after some guy, I believe.

 

Edited August 20, 2017 by Sandy Larsen

[Sandy Larsen]

3 hours ago, Sandy Larsen said:

Given that the test was designed for native speakers, it sounds to me like Oswald understood and spoke Russian like, perhaps, a high school dropout. Or maybe a "hick." Or maybe a 6th grade kid. Which is not bad, really.

If HARVEY did learn Russian as a child, then it makes sense that he could speak at a 6th grade level here in America, where he barely passed the Marine Corp language test and had a two hour conversation with Rosaleen Quinn in Russian. Because grade 6 was about the time he immigrated to the United States. (Actually, it must have been a year or two earlier --  before the merging of HARVEY and LEE -- because HARVEY needed time to learn English.)

Then when in Russia for that first year prior to meeting Marina, he had sufficient Russian speaking exposure that he was able to increase his proficiency to the level described by her. Another year later, still in Russia, his proficiency increased to the level described by De Mohrenschildt.

This all makes sense to me and is what I'm going with for now.

The only alternative in a Harvey & Lee scenario, is that HARVEY took intensive (all day) Russian courses during the four month period he was stationed in the States, between October 1958 and February 1959. This scenario seems unlikely to me given that he had friends like Delgado who worked with him and yet had no idea he was taking Russian courses.

 

[Michael Walton]

This is the last post I'm putting on this.  I thought this post had thankfully died out but somehow it was revived.  And when I saw Jim continuing to post the same old phony nonsense, I got the itch to post again.

But this thread - this whole forum as a matter of fact - is basically a "we said/they said" argument with no real conclusions. People who believe in anything and everything about this case - from painted in blobs on the films to this Oswald clone at 13 years old nonsense - are going to continue to believe, while others who try to go by reliable evidence and "does it pass the smell test" are going to believe in what they want.  So in summary...

The school records.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7Hr9Lrku-CxcDRQald1OGlnRGc/view

A single Oswald from two different periods, not a clone (animated GIF let it load).
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B7Hr9Lrku-CxdS03TDM3dFJ1aGM/view

Stop using Sylvia, Jim.  It's dishonest of you. Yes, there were imposters around in early '63 trying to make memorable moments of Oswald. That's what she meant and what any rational and serious researcher knows. It does not mean a clone from back in 1953.

And finally, from Texas Monthly way back in 1998.  I couldn't have said it better:

"The theory is so implausible that its popularity now might be taken as a sign that conspiracy research has at last hit a dead end. It’s one thing to believe that Oswald was involved in a plot; it’s another to believe that the plot began when he was thirteen. Who could believe this stuff and why? "

The absolute best theory - one with a lot of good potential - is the Oswald in the Doorway one.  But as is the case around here, even there the crazies come out ripping it up and then walk away with a smirk without realizing its true merits. Then they turn around and continue to fall for the clone silliness.

[Jim Hargrove]

Mr. Walton’s first link above, to a poor composite of the PS 44 and Beauregard JHS school records, simply confirms what John Armstrong has been saying for the past 20 years, that two men using the same name, birth date, and mother’s name, had been appearing simultaneously, often far apart, for YEARS.  What are the odds indeed of that happening by chance?

Mr. Walton’s second link, to an animated GIF, shows one of Russian-speaking Harvey Oswald’s pictures after his arrest morphing into a picture attached to Russian-speaking Harvey Oswald’s passport.

Mr. Walton demands that I “stop using Sylvia” when he knows damned well that there are scores of credible examples of two “Lee Harvey Oswalds” in two far apart places simultaneously during the months and years before the assassination.  Here are just three of the more famous ones in the period IMMEDIATELY BEFORE the weeks examined by Ms. Meagher and others.

Sept. ‘63: David Atlee Phillips was seen with LEE Harvey Oswald at the Southland Building in Dallas in September 1963, while Lee HARVEY Oswald was in New Orleans.

Aug.-Oct. ‘63: Irving City Council member and owner of Clifton's Barber shop, Cliff Shasteen, told the Warren Commission that he and his fellow barbers cut LEE Oswald's hair on 6 or 7 occasions, during August, September and October 1963 Texas shop.  Shasteen gave detailed descriptions of Oswald, his clothes and hair, his car: “that there 1955, I think it's a 1955, I'm sure it's a 1955 Chevrolet station wagon. It's either blue and white or green and white it's two-toned--I know that….”  During August and September HARVEY Oswald was still in New Orleans. Both Oswalds were in the Dallas area in October.

Aug. ‘63: While Harvey Oswald and Marina were living on Magazine St. in New Orleans, a number of Jack Ruby’s employees said they saw Oswald in Ruby’s company and often driving a car.  Western Union delivered several telegrams to “Lee Harvey Oswald” at the Rotary Apartments on 7th St. in Dallas during this same period.

Mr. Walton surely knows there are credible indications that “Lee Harvey Oswald” or “Lee Oswald” was active in Cuba-related activities in New Orleans and Florida while the other “Lee Harvey Oswald” was in Russia.  See for example, the Bolton Ford episode and Marita Lorenz’s testimony.

There are even more examples of two “Lee Harvey Oswalds” active in the U.S. Marines from 1957-59, several of which have been discussed at length in this thread. And, as can be seen immediately above, the dual Oswalds can be traced back even further.  

[Sandy Larsen]

As usual, Michael Walton ignores the inconvenient evidence and claims he knows what's the truth and what isn't.

And I guess he thinks he proved something in his school records graphic.

 

[Jim Hargrove]

On 8/18/2017 at 2:01 PM, Mathias Baumann said:

Jim,

I don't think Oswald was able to read that kind of high-brow newspaper articles by the time he passed the Marine Corps test.

[ . . . . ]

I definitely agree with you up to a certain point - I don't think he could've passed the test without formal instruction. There's no way he could've taught himself enough Russian to pass the test in just a few months time. And certainly not from a dictionary and newspaper articles alone.

 But we should on the other hand not exaggerate the language skills he possessed at that point. After all he barely got a passing grade. And as you can see above the level required for a passing grade is not THAT high. The scale goes up to L5/R5 after all.

I think a low estimate would be that he'd have needed somewhere around 100 to 200 individual lessons to pass the exam.

Hi, Mathias,

I've been trying for two or three days to get back to this post of yours, and so I hope you see this.  Here's the image of the Russian-language newspaper printed in San Francisco that you objected to:

Are you sure this was a "high-brow newspaper," as you put it? The English-language copy on the masthead says, "RUSSIAN NATIONAL ANTICOMMUNIST NEWSPAPER," and I'll bet, but certainly can't say for certain, that it was aimed at White Russians living in the U.S.  As such, it wouldn't seem to be a type of document filled with scientific or medical or high-tech jargon.  Seems to me it would be aimed at just an average Russian-speaking audience.

I worked in the publishing business in the U.S. for more than thirty years.  In this country, at least, reading levels of daily and weekly newspapers are remarkably similar.  From a lowly tabloid to the New York Times or Washington Post, most are aimed generally at people reading at a junior high level or above.  Of course, I know next to nothing about Russian-language newspapers or their readers.

And so I searched Google images for more Russian-language newspapers and what frequently came up was Pravda.  Here is the clearest image I found of page from, **I THINK** a 1953 edition of Pravda. (If you click on the image you should be able to see a more legible copy of the page.)

Do you think this would be a fairer example of the type of Russian-language newspaper Oswald might have read?  (It doesn't look any less daunting to me than my previous example, but I've never studied Russian at all.)

What do you think?  If you think both of these papers are too advanced, can you provide an alternate example?

[Ray Mitcham]

17 hours ago, Jim Hargrove said:

 

Aug.-Oct. ‘63: Irving City Council member and owner of Clifton's Barber shop, Cliff Shasteen, told the Warren Commission that he and his fellow barbers cut LEE Oswald's hair on 6 or 7 occasions, during August, September and October 1963 Texas shop.  Shasteen gave detailed descriptions of Oswald, his clothes and hair, his car: “that there 1955, I think it's a 1955, I'm sure it's a 1955 Chevrolet station wagon. It's either blue and white or green and white it's two-toned--I know that….”  During August and September HARVEY Oswald was still in New Orleans. Both Oswalds were in the Dallas area in October.

[/quote]

Could Oswald's car been the Blue Chevrolet owned by Ruth Paine (Blue Chevrolet)?

[Mathias Baumann]

3 hours ago, Jim Hargrove said:

Hi, Mathias,

I've been trying for two or three days to get back to this post of yours, and so I hope you see this.  Here's the image of the Russian-language newspaper printed in San Francisco that you objected to:

Are you sure this was a "high-brow newspaper," as you put it? The English-language copy on the masthead says, "RUSSIAN NATIONAL ANTICOMMUNIST NEWSPAPER," and I'll bet, but certainly can't say for certain, that it was aimed at White Russians living in the U.S.  As such, it wouldn't seem to be a type of document filled with scientific or medical or high-tech jargon.  Seems to me it would be aimed at just an average Russian-speaking audience.

I worked in the publishing business in the U.S. for more than thirty years.  In this country, at least, reading levels of daily and weekly newspapers are remarkably similar.  From a lowly tabloid to the New York Times or Washington Post, most are aimed generally at people reading at a junior high level or above.  Of course, I know next to nothing about Russian-language newspapers or their readers.

And so I searched Google images for more Russian-language newspapers and what frequently came up was Pravda.  Here is the clearest image I found of page from, **I THINK** a 1953 edition of Pravda. (If you click on the image you should be able to see a more legible copy of the page.)

Do you think this would be a fairer example of the type of Russian-language newspaper Oswald might have read?  (It doesn't look any less daunting to me than my previous example, but I've never studied Russian at all.)

What do you think?  If you think both of these papers are too advanced, can you provide an alternate example?

Hello Jim,

here you can download a CEF-A2 Russian test: http://www.russian-online.net/pdf/trki_a2_ron.zip

CEF-A2 should roughly correspond to L2/R2. I think this might shed some light on the skills Oswald possessed at the time he took the test.

And no, on that level Oswald would certainly not have been able to read and understand a Pravda article. Not by a long shot.

[Jim Hargrove]

5 hours ago, Ray Mitcham said:

Could Oswald's car been the Blue Chevrolet owned by Ruth Paine (Blue Chevrolet)?

 

 

That's what we think! From Harvey and Lee….

 

Ruth Paine leaves for the east coast

 

Ruth Paine left Irving, Texas on July 27, 1963 and supposedly drove to the east

coast to visit her family. She was not seen again until September 20 when she arrived

at the Oswalds’ apartment in New Orleans. She stayed with the Oswalds for three days

and then drove Marina and June to Irving and arrived on September 24th.

 

NOTE: Mrs. Paine was supposed to have driven her light blue two-tone 1955 Chevrolet

station wagon (Texas license NK 4041) to the east coast but, according to the Murrets,

she drove a brown station wagon to New Orleans in May, 1963, accompanied by Ma­-

rina and June Oswald.

 

Michael Paine, from whom Ruth had been separated since the fall of 1962,

moved into an apartment in Arlington, Texas and later to an apartment in Grand Prai-­

rie, Texas. The Paine's house should have been vacant from July 27 thru September

24th, 1963 and Mrs. Paine's light blue two-tone 1955 Chevrolet station wagon should

have been with her on the east coast, but there are indications the blue station wagon remained

in Irving.

 

Irving barber and city councilman Cliff Shasteen told the Warren Commission

that Lee Oswald drove Ruth Paine's car to his shop in the late summer of 1963 on sev­-

eral occasions. The owner of an Esso-Humble service station in New Orleans, Mr. Will,

said that Oswald filled up a 1955 two-tone station wagon with gas at his station on sev­-

eral occasions, the last time about September 10, 1963. The last time Mr. A.R. Will saw

Oswald he did not have enough money to pay his bill, which was slightly more than $11.

Mr. Will gave Oswald a tank of gas on credit and Oswald signed the bill "L.H. Oswald,

4905 Magazine Street." When Mr. Will asked Oswald for identification, he produced a

photo identification card. Harvey Oswald had no driver's license and could not drive.

 

....

 

August, 1963 - Lee Oswald drives Ruth Paine's car in Dallas

 

In August, with Harvey and Marina living at 4905 Magazine Street in New Or­

leans, Lee Oswald arrived at Cliff Shasteen's barbershop in Irving, Texas at 6:30 am for

a hair cut. His shop was located at 1321 South Story Road, which is less than a mile from

Ruth Paine's and across the street from Hutch's Super Market.

 

Shasteen, a 39-year-old barber and Irving City Council member, remembered

the visit because Oswald was wearing house shoes which were "out of the ordinary." He

commented to Oswald that the shoes, which were brilliant yellow and embossed with

a design, must be expensive. Oswald said, "No, not where I bought them," and ex­-

plained that he had purchased the shoes in Old Mexico for $1.50.^{81 Nov, 63-27} Shasteen

remarked, "Man, I' d like to have a pair of them because I have to wear a shoe built-up."

Oswald replied, "Well, I'll get you a pair the next time I'm down there."⁸² Oswald told

Shasteen, "I make lots of trips down there."^{83 Nov, 63-28} As we have seen, Lee Oswald did make

lots of trips to Mexico.

 

NOTE: Following the assassination Dallas Police Detectives confiscated all of Harvey

Oswald's possessions from 1026 N Beckley and 2515 W. 5th in Irving. Neither cover­-

alls nor a pair of yellow house shoes were found.

 

Shasteen, a life-long barber, remembered that Oswald had a widow's peak and,

"was dark headed. I wouldn't say he was real black, you know, what I mean, he wasn't

jet black, but most people would call him black-headed."⁸⁴

 

NOTE: Arrest photos clearly show that Harvey Oswald had medium brown hair, not

"black hair," and Harvey did not have a widows peak.

 

Shasteen said, "Oswald never did want his hair cut--he always wanted it to look

like it was about a week old when he cut it and he got a haircut about every two

weeks."⁸⁵ The barber remembered that Oswald always wore green colored, military

type, oversized coveralls that buttoned up the front and, on all but one occasion, had

long sleeves. On the one occasion that Oswald wore coveralls with short sleeves,

Shasteen noticed that Oswald’s arms were covered with thick black hair. He said that Oswald

was always disgruntled and instructed the barbers to cut only 1/32" or 1/16" from his hair,

instructions which the barbers found silly and ignored.⁸⁶

 

Shasteen told both the FBI and Warren Commission that Oswald drove Ruth

Paine's station wagon to his barber shop and he watched him cross the street and enter

Leonard Hutchison's grocery store. AUG,63-29 Shasteen said, "He (Lee Oswald) drove that

there 1955, I think it's a 1955, I' m sure it's a 1955 Chevrolet station wagon. It's either

blue and white or green and white-it's two toned-I know that."^{87 AUG, 63-30} Shasteen told the

Warren Commission the car was always parked at the Paines’ house.⁸⁸

 

NOTE: Shasteen’s testimony makes it clear that Ruth Paine, and probably Michael

Paine, knew both Harvey and Lee Oswald.

 

FBI Agent Bardwell Odum, who knew that Lee Harvey Oswald did not drive

and could not have driven Ruth Paine's car, interviewed Shasteen. Odum told Shasteen,

"Now, that contradicts with some of the other information (Oswald's ability to drive a

car)." Shasteen responded by telling Odum, "I can't help what it contradicts, that's just

the fact and that's it."⁸⁹ After cutting Oswald's hair on two occasions in late August or

early September, neither Shasteen nor the other barbers saw Oswald for about a month.⁹⁰

 

NOTE: Ruth Paine described her car to FBI Agent Bardwell Odum as a 1955 Chevrolet

4-door, 2-toned green station Wagon.⁹¹ Lee Oswald may have driven this car to New

Orleans in early September, while Mrs. Paine drove to the east coast in a brown station

wagon--the same car that was seen by Mrs. Murret in May 1963 and by two FBI agents

parked in front of 4907 Magazine in August 1963. A man who identified himself as Lee

Harvey Oswald, with a photo identification, had a 1955 station wagon serviced in New

Orleans at A.R. Wills Service Station about September 10, 1963.

 

In the summer of 1963 Loretta Cline lived around the corner from the Paine's

and was a babysitter for Ruth in July and August. Before leaving for the Holy Family

of Nazareth Convent (Des Plaines, IL), in August, Loretta and her mother (Lillie Cline)

saw a pregnant woman in Mrs. Paine's back yard who they later thought was Marina

(Marina was in New Orleans from May 10 thru September 21 ). Lillie Cline visited the Paine's

and spoke with the woman after her child was born in late August or early September

(Rachel Oswald was born October 20, 1963 ).^{92 AUG,63-32} This woman could not have been

Marina Oswald because she spoke English with Loretta and Lillie Cline, and when

interviewed by the FBI neither Loretta nor Lillie said anything about her being a for­

eigner.

 

Another neighbor, Linnie Mae Randle, recalled seeing Lee Harvey Oswald and

Marina at the Paine residence on numerous occasions during the summer of 1963.⁹³

 

--from Harvey and Lee, pp. 558 & 581-582, Copyright © 2003 by John Armstrong. All rights reserved.

[Jim Hargrove]

4 hours ago, Mathias Baumann said:

Hello Jim,

here you can download a CEF-A2 Russian test: http://www.russian-online.net/pdf/trki_a2_ron.zip

CEF-A2 should roughly correspond to L2/R2. I think this might shed some light on the skills Oswald possessed at the time he took the test.

And no, on that level Oswald would certainly not have been able to read and understand a Pravda article. Not by a long shot.

Mathias, 

Thank you!  What do you make of this?

From their WC testimony....

Charles Donovan: "I know that the men always told me that he subscribed to a Russian newspaper."

James Bothelo: "Oswald subscribed to a newspaper printed in Russian, which I believe he said was printed in San Francisco.  It was common knowledge that Oswald had taught himself to speak Russian."

Kerry Thornley: "I knew he was subscribing to Pravda or a Russian newspaper of some kind from Moscow."

From his affidavit ....

Mack Osborne said: "Oswald at that time was studying Russian.  He spent a great deal of his free time reading papers printed in Russian--which I believe he bought in Los Angeles--with the aid of a Russian-English dictionary.  I believe he also had some books written in Russian, although I do not remember their names.

All these reminiscences are from soldiers stationed with Oswald in California... not earlier. What newspaper(s) and book(s) could Harvey Oswald have been reading?

[Mathias Baumann]

Jim,

I think it's possible that Oswald did indeed subscribe to a Russian newspaper. But that fact alone tells us little about his reading comprehension.

The deMohrenshild statement you quoted above is far more interesting in my opinion. Do you know if Oswald received any kind of language training while in Russia? Because I don't think it is possibly to reach the level of a native speaker without any instruction.