We are here to do justice and be fair to everyone concerned in this matter. And I assure you that that is our main and our only purpose in serving on this Commission. None of us cherish this responsibility.
Mrs. Oswald. I am sure, sir.
The Chairman. And the only satisfaction we can derive from it is to be fair to all concerned.
And I assure you that is our objective in the matter.
Mrs. Oswald. I do not mean to imply that this Commission will not be fair. I know about the men on the Commission. And they are all very fine men, including yourself, Chief Justice Warren. If I have implied that, I will—will now say I do not imply. But I do state a fact that I do not think that you can come to a true conclusion. I want that for record.
Now, I am going to produce—and this will be a fact—and this is on the basis——
The Chairman. Now, we have finished the three things that you are talking about, and we are going to your testimony?
Mrs. Oswald. This is in connection with this, Chief Justice Warren. And I think it is very important to present a picture.
And then if you allow me these few minutes, I will be through.
Is that satisfactory, sir?
The Chairman. Yes, go right ahead.
Mrs. Oswald. Now, I believe you mentioned that you would not have the power or give me the power to subpena them. But if I could produce the facts in my story, then I believe we should have these people called.
Now, here is an article in the Washington paper—and the date happens to be torn off, but I can get it—that Senator John G. Tower had made. And I have outlined here——
The Chairman. I wonder, Mrs. Oswald—before we get into any details of this kind, let's settle this situation as to whether the Commission will say to you now that it will subpena anyone you ask.
I must say to you that you cannot put that burden on the Commission. The Commission will have to exercise its own discretion as to who it subpenas and when.
Mr. Doyle. Mr. Chief Justice, may I say something? I was wondering if whether or not what Mrs. Oswald is addressing respectfully to the Commission is her confidence that if in the course of her own testimony and the actual facts that she is producing, she expresses confidence that if those facts recommend the subpena of additional witnesses, or the recall of others, she expresses her confidence that that would be done, if the facts she outlines so require.
The Chairman. She may be very sure of that, as I tried to tell her.
But the only thing—I would not want Mrs. Oswald to leave here and say, "I gave the Commission a list of witnesses and they did not call all of them."
Now, that is a matter that will have to be in the province of the Commission, and not in the province of a witness.
And I say that without any combative—not in a combative spirit. Because, as your counsel states, I think we are not far apart on it, Mrs. Oswald.
Mrs. Oswald. No. And I appreciate the fact——
The Chairman. But fairness will have to judge our actions. And we propose to be fair.
Mrs. Oswald. Now, I guess I am a very stubborn person. I am a very aggressive person, as you know by now.
I would like—this would be just 2 minutes, and it would bring a point, and then I would be through, if I may.
The Chairman. Very well.
Mrs. Oswald. Senator Towner has dates here, and the main part of the article is that he had received a letter from the State Department.
Now, I would like—I have information from the State Department, I have documents from the State Department which is contrary to the dates and contrary to Senator Tower's public statement.
And I would like to have the letter that he has from the State Department, and the name of the man that wrote it, because it is contrary to what I have.
He could have been, to use an American slang, shooting his mouth off, because he said if he went to Russia let him stay there, I would not help him—is what he said.
But then again he may have this very important letter from this man in the State Department, which is incorrect, from what I have.
Now, he claims—and if you would like to read that—and that is what I was trying to bring out.
The Chairman. I think you will have to leave that to the wisdom of the Commission and its sense of fair play, and what is necessary, all facts considered.
Mrs. Oswald. Well, I have had my say, gentlemen, and I will most graciously continue.
However. I am not too happy that I will not have counsel for my son, because I believe my son would also be entitled to counsel.
The Chairman. Very well, you may continue.
Mrs. Oswald. Now, I will start——
The Chairman. Mrs. Oswald, may I introduce Congressman Ford, also a member of the Commission.
Now, Mrs. Oswald—Mr. Lee Rankin will be in charge of the hearing from this point on. He is our General Counsel, as you know.
Mrs. Oswald. Yes.
Mr. Rankin. Mrs. Oswald, will you proceed to produce the papers and tell us about them, and then I will ask the Commission after we get them, to permit us to substitute copies, and in accordance with your request we will let you be present at the time we make the photostats.
The Chairman. You may start to tell your story in your own way.
Mrs. Oswald. I have three different stories. I understand from Mr. Rankin's letter that my life is to be told from the very start, and so is Lee's life, from the very start. So which will I start first?
I believe it would be easier for me and of more benefit to the counsel if I would continue with one life, the whole story, and then continue with the—whichever way you would suggest I do it.
Mr. Rankin. If you could start out and tell us within the period that Lee Oswald returned from the Soviet Union on, whatever you know about it, in your own way, and then we will go back to the other matters later.
Is that all right?
Mrs. Oswald. Yes, sir—anything is just fine. I am willing to help in any way possible.
I wanted to state it clearly in the beginning.
I received a speedletter from the State Department stating that Lee would leave Moscow, and how he would leave and arrive in New York—on June 13, 1962. I was on a case in Crowell, Tex. I am a practical nurse. And I was taking care of a very elderly woman, whose daughter lived in Fort Worth, Tex.
So I was not able to leave and meet Lee.
Robert, his brother, met him, and Lee went to Robert's home.
Approximately about a week later—I could not stand it any more—I called the daughter and had her come to take care of her mother, and took 3 days off, and went to Fort Worth to see Lee and Marina.
Marina is a beautiful girl. And I said to Lee, "Marina, she doesn't look Russian. She is beautiful."
He says, "Of course not. That is why I married her, because she looks like an American girl."
I asked her where he had met her, and he said he met her at a social function, a community function.
I said, "You know, Lee, I am getting ready—I was getting ready to write a book on your so-called defection.
"I had researched it and came to Washington in 1961, and, by the way, asked to see President Kennedy, because I had a lot of extenuating circumstances at the time because of the defection."
He said, "Mother, you are not going to write a book."
I said, "Lee, don't tell me what to do. I cannot