Mrs. Oswald. No. I think that you are confused—this was Elena Hall in Fort Worth, she was ill and went to the hospital. It is not very interesting to hear all that. Somewhat boring.
Mr. Rankin. Do you recall the manner in which Lee brought up the idea of your going to Russia alone?
Mrs. Oswald. Quite simply he said it was very hard for him here. That he could not have a steady job. It would be better for me because I could work in Russia. That was all.
Mr. Rankin. Did you understand when he suggested it that he proposed that you go and he stay?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes. Now, I think I know why he had in mind to start his foolish activity which could harm me but, of course, at that time he didn't tell me the reason. It is only now that I understand it. At that time when I would ask him he would get angry because he couldn't tell me.
Mr. Rankin. What would you say to him at that time?
Mrs. Oswald. I told him at that time that I am agreeable to going if he could not live with me. But he kept on repeating that he wanted to live with me but that it would be better for me, but when I wanted to know the reason he would not tell me.
Mr. Rankin. Is there something that you have learned since that caused you to believe that this suggestion was related to trying to provide for you or to be sure that you wouldn't be hurt by what he was going to do?
Mrs. Oswald. At that time I didn't know this. I only saw that he was in such a state that he was struggling and perhaps did not understand himself. I thought that I was the reason for that.
Mr. Rankin. Did he have a job then?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Did you feel that you were getting along on what he was earning?
Mrs. Oswald. Of course.
Mr. Rankin. Were you urging him to earn more so that he could provide more for the family?
Mrs. Oswald. No. We had enough.
Mr. Rankin. You were not complaining about the way you were living?
Mrs. Oswald. No. I think that my friends had thought, and it was also written in the newspapers that we lived poorly because for Americans $200 appears to be very little. But I have never lived in any very luxurious way and, therefore, for me this was quite sufficient. Some of the others would say, "well here, you don't have a car or don't have this or that." But for me it was sufficient. Sometimes Lee would tell me I was just like my friends, that I wanted to have that which they had. That I preferred them to him because they give me more, but that is not true.
Mr. Rankin. Did you understand when he suggested you return to Russia that he was proposing to break up your marriage?
Mrs. Oswald. I told him that I would go to Russia if he would give me a divorce, but he did not want to give me a divorce.
Mr. Rankin. Did he say why?
Mrs. Oswald. He said that if he were to give me a divorce that that would break everything between us, which he didn't want. That he wanted to keep me as his wife, but I told him that if he wants to remain in the United States I want to be free in Russia.
Mr. Rankin. During this period did he appear to be more excited and nervous?
Mrs. Oswald. Not particularly, but the later time he was more excited and more nervous but it was quite a contrast between the way he was in Russia.
Mr. Rankin. By the later time that you just referred to what do you mean? Can you give us some approximate date?
Mrs. Oswald. When we went to Neely Street.
The Chairman. I think this is a good time to take our luncheon recess now. So, we will adjourn until 2 o'clock.
Mrs. Oswald. Thank you.
(Whereupon, at 12:30 p.m., the President's Commission recessed.)
Afternoon Session
TESTIMONY OF MRS. LEE HARVEY OSWALD RESUMED
The President's Commission reconvened at 2 p.m.
The Chairman. All right. Let us proceed.
(The Chairman administered the oath to Alvin I. Mills, Stenotype Reporter.)
Mr. Rankin. Mr. Reporter, do you have the last questions?
In the future, would you do that, so we can refresh the witness about the last couple of questions on her testimony? I think it will make it easier for her, if she doesn't have to try to remember all the time.
Mr. Rankin. Mrs. Oswald, as I recall you were telling us about these developments at Neely Street when you found that your husband was suggesting that you go back to Russia alone and you discussed that matter, and you thought it had something to do with the idea he had, which I understood you have discovered as you looked back or thought back later but didn't know at the time fully. Is that right?
Mrs. Oswald. That is correct.
Mr. Rankin. Could you tell us those things that you observed that caused you to think he had something in mind at that time, and I will ask you later, after you tell us, those that you discovered since or that you have obtained more light on since.
Mrs. Oswald. At that time I did not think anything about it. I had no reasons to think that he had something in mind. I did not understand him at that time.
Mr. Rankin. Do you recall the first time that you observed the rifle?
Mrs. Oswald. That was on Neely Street. I think that was in February.
Mr. Rankin. How did you learn about it? Did you see it some place in the apartment?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes, Lee had a small room where he spent a great deal of time, where he read—where he kept his things, and that is where the rifle was.
Mr. Rankin. Was it out in the room at that time, as distinguished from in a closet in the room?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes, it was open, out in the open. At first I think—I saw some package up on the top shelf, and I think that that was the rifle. But I didn't know. And apparently later he assembled it and had it in the room.
Mr. Rankin. When you saw the rifle assembled in the room, did it have the scope on it?
Mrs. Oswald. No, it did not have a scope on it.
Mr. Rankin. Did you have any discussion with your husband about the rifle when you first saw it?
Mrs. Oswald. Of course I asked him, "What do you need a rifle for? What do we need that for?"
He said that it would come in handy some time for hunting. And this was not too surprising because in Russia, too, we had a rifle.
Mr. Rankin. In Russia did you have a rifle or a shotgun?
Mrs. Oswald. I don't know the difference. One and the other shoots. You men. That is your business.
The Chairman. My wife wouldn't know the difference, so it is all right.
Mrs. Oswald. I have never served in the Army.
Mr. Rankin. Did you discuss what the rifle cost with your husband?
Mrs. Oswald. No.
Mr. Rankin. Was the rifle later placed in a closet in the apartment at Neely Street?
Mrs. Oswald. No, it was always either in a corner, standing up in a corner or on a shelf.
Mr. Rankin. Do you know what happened to the gun that you had in Russia? Was it brought over to this country?
Mrs. Oswald. No, he sold it there. I did not say so when I had the first interviews. You must understand this was my husband. I didn't want to say too much.
Mr. Rankin. Is this rifle at