Mr. Dulles. Thank you.
Mr. Jenner. So while he was in Russia, he wrote you considerably more often, at least after the first year, I guess it was, or nine months, than he had theretofore?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir. If I might there again refer to the letters from Russia received from Lee Harvey Oswald and placed in evidence before this Commission, when he notified us in 1959 that he was no longer going to write or contact us, and did not want us to contact him in any way, it was until April of 1961 before I heard from him again, which was, of course, a period of time after one year.
Mr. Jenner. Had you written him in the meantime?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I did not.
Mr. Jenner. Did you know where he was in the meantime—that is, any particular town or city in Russia?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I did not.
Mr. Dulles. And you had the impression that he did not want you to write to him at that time?
Mr. McKenzie. Mr. Dulles, he says that in the letters.
Mr. Jenner. Yes—one of these letters I am about to examine him about so states.
That is correct, is it not?
Mr. Oswald. That is correct.
Mr. Jenner. I take it, then, however, that in contrast, commencing with the letter in 1961, April I believe you said it was—from that time forward, there was, by comparison, a considerable number of letters, and a larger volume of correspondence than you had ever had from your brother?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, there was a continuous flow. Realizing the period that it would take to make a complete cycle of the exchange of one letter to another, of approximately two weeks—the letters were quite regular.
Mr. Jenner. And this had not been the pattern even in prior years.
Mr. Oswald. No, sir; it was not.
Mr. Jenner. When he was in the Marine Corps, or when you were in the Marine Corps?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir; it was not.
Mr. Jenner. Confirmatory of that, Mr. Oswald, I note in Commission Exhibit No. 296, is the last paragraph which reads, "I know I haven't written in a long time. Please excuse me. Well, there really isn't too much news here. But I would like to hear from you and the family. Write soon. Your brother, Lee". I take it from that that there had been—this was the first communication you had had from him, as he says, in a long time.
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, that is correct.
Mr. Jenner. Does your memory serve you sufficiently now to define more clearly the period to which he refers as "a long time"?
Mr. Oswald. I would say in between the leave in 1958, and his letter received, postmarked in June 1959, I would not have received over two or three letters.
Mr. Jenner. His leave in '58 was when, again, please?
Mr. Oswald. I recall this to be in the early fall of the year—perhaps September.
Mr. Jenner. All right. Directing your attention now back to the letter of November 8, 1959, which is Commission Exhibit 294, I will ask you this: Is this the first letter you received from him from Russia?
Mr. Oswald. That is correct.
Mr. Jenner. Is it the first communication of any kind, at least directly from or initially by him, that you had from him?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, that is correct.
Mr. Jenner. This is, then, the first time you heard from him from the day he departed to go to New Orleans, as he had stated to you, for the purpose of finding employment?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, that is correct.
Mr. Jenner. You testified yesterday that you responded to this letter—that is, Commission Exhibit 294, dated November 8, 1959. Is that correct?
Mr. Oswald. That is correct.
Mr. Jenner. You were unable to recall particularly well yesterday your letter in response to Commission Exhibit 294. Has the reading of the letter of November 26, 1959, which is Commission Exhibit 295, and your re-reading of the letter of November 8, Commission Exhibit 294, served to refresh your recollection as to the contents of your letter which you wrote in response to Commission Exhibit 294?
Mr. Oswald. To some degree, sir, it most certainly has.
Mr. Jenner. All right. Would you now, having had your recollection refreshed, relate to us as near as may be, if you are able to do so, your letter in response to your brother's letter, Commission Exhibit 294?
Mr. Oswald. Which was the letter of November 8—is that correct?
Mr. Jenner. That is correct.
Mr. Oswald. To the best of my recollection, in my response to his letter, I asked him why he went to Russia, and for what purpose he went to Russia. And I believe, sir, that is to the best of my ability, in the remembrance of my letter, that would be the only two questions that I asked him.
Mr. Jenner. Now, in the letter of November 8, he says, "Do you know, for instance, that I have wanted to do this for well over a year"—that is, go to Russia. I take it from your prior testimony that you had not known, either well over a year or even for an instant, that he had any intention of going to Russia.
Mr. Oswald. That is correct.
Mr. Jenner. Had the name Albert Schweitzer College ever been mentioned by your brother Lee prior to this time—that is, let us say, prior to the middle of September 1959?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir; it was not.
Mr. Jenner. He also states in this letter of November 8—makes the rhetorical question—"Do you know that I speak a fair amount of Russian, which I have been studying for many months". Had that subject matter ever come to your attention prior to his uttering it in the letter of November 8?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir; it had not.
Mr. Jenner. You did not know, up until this time, that your brother had been studying Russian while in the Marines?
Mr. Oswald. That is correct. And again if I may elaborate on that, I was not aware that he ever studied any foreign language.
Mr. Dulles. Did your brother ever talk to you about what he was reading during this period?
Mr. Jenner. Or at any time, during his school period?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir. Of course, I have seen him read various books. I never did see him read a book—unless the covers—or perhaps if I picked it up—it didn't indicate anything about communism or socialism. He did like to read. He read quite a bit. And by this, I have observed him to read anything from funny books to novels, to westerns, the full scope. He liked American history. I have seen him read American history a great deal.
Mr. Jenner. Was he a voracious reader? That is, did he read a great deal, devote much attention to reading?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir, he was what I would term an assiduous reader.
Mr. Jenner. I am directing your attention to his—oh, say, from age, let's say, nine or ten to the time he enlisted in the Marines—maybe we better go back a little bit more, since you were away. I would like to cover his youth up to the time he enlisted in the Marines. Is that the period of which you speak?
Mr. Oswald. No, sir; I do not. I speak of a later period—my visit to New Orleans after I received my discharge from the Marine Corps.
Mr. Jenner. And before he enlisted in the marines?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir; before he enlisted in the Marine Corps. And of his moving to Fort Worth.
Mr. Jenner. Fix the time.
Mr. Oswald. With mother—in 1955.
Mr. Jenner. On these occasions you observed him reading assiduously?
Mr. Oswald. Yes, sir.
Mr.