Q: One can't help but notice that you address him as "Lee.". Marina kept to her wordafter the days surrounding the assassination, neither June nor Rachel was ever allowed to see their grandmother again. "It is my own opinion that she is out right now to make as much money as she can on her relationship with Lee Harvey Oswald," he told the Warren Commission. She wished to face reality, not dodge it, the church reported in its newsletter. A: I've never publicly said one way or the other for sure. There was a problem saving your notification. I do blame him for having beat my mother, and not being a good father or a good provider. The other thing is, you just worry genealogically: Lee was illegitimate, and so was my mother. I think she is out to make money than if she has to say he is guilty. And she said: "I'm so and so, and I just want you to know that I've written a song about you - and your child. WebLee Harvey Oswalds youngest daughter, Rachel, was only one month old in 1963 when her father allegedly killed President Kennedy, and was shot to death himself. My father is Kenneth Porter, the man I grew up with, the man who was there for my mother and Rachel and me. If someone has it, I would also like to read it again. One woman said that she had belonged to a church for forty years and what it had done for her in all that time she could write on the back of a postage stamp, Campbell said. Oswald was considered an average student at the English Language Institute. I felt they manipulated her and made her look foolish. Additionally, Porter told the commission she believed her husband was guilty of shooting President Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963. And she said, "June Oswald?" Oswald was among 30 students in her English Language Institute course. Nope. In one test (conducted by CBS News), 13 people were able to duplicate his shots. Four of those people had never fired the Mannlicher Carbiner After her husbands death, she said she wanted to stay in the United States and improve her English. But both reneged after learning that the funeral would be outside by the grave rather than in a chapel, fearing the potential threat of snipers. She wanted to know Lee; she wants lee to be a saint. Moreover, Porter still lives with her second husband Kenneth, however in private, and is afraid to go out in public. Almost immediately, she began receiving offers of help money, clothing, food, housing from around the country. Complicating her situation was that Oswald spoke very little English, was jobless and feared being returned to Russia. Tho I have been told that both daughters have been burned. The first of its kind in the country, the ELI was established to provide instruction and support for international students who speak English as a second language. Both interviews I found in the JFK collection at the Dallas Public Library last November. I know you were just a toddler, but do you have any recollections of turbulence in the household? Do I need to be more compassionate' about it? While married to Lee Harvey Oswald, she gave birth to her firstborn daughter called June Lee on 15th Why are 40+ guests suddenly reading this very old thread, as well as a smaller but still significant number reading an old thread on Marina? Now shes a widow, too, was the headline in newspapers across the country. Oswald. I started worrying about, first of all, do I have a responsibility to tell them? So I sat across the hall in a time-out room. We visited the set of "JFK" when it was going on, and somebody said, "Your father was a hero." The way I finally woke up was, one night he said, "I'm gonna sell an article to Penthouse or Playboy"- I forget which - "and it's about your mother. Well, there's a travel guide she found out about that actually listed the Texas Chili Parlor and said the daughter of Lee Harvey Oswald worked there. Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. To avoid argument, the gravediggers were told they were digging a hole for William Bobo., As Secret Service, FBI agents, and a heavy police guard stood watch, seven newsmen serving asvolunteerpallbearers carried the pine coffin to the grave. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. I read this intvu again and if there are two people I'd love to talk to, it's Rachel and June. Q: Where do you stand today as far as your perception of what really happened out there in Dealey Plaza? Q: But are you comfortable with the fact that Lee Oswald played at least some role? But anonymity exacted a curious price of its own, as June faced myriad graceless references to her father, mother and family. Since I hadn't gotten a response, I toyed with the idea that I might have to go public. As for what his exact role in the assassination was -- well, he'll have to be judged for that before God. Because that's mostly what I think of when I think of Lee. She had been in the United States all of 17 In addition, Porter was under Secret Service protection until she finished giving testimony before the Warren Commission. But see, I'm matter-of-fact about a lot in my life. Rachel loved listening to that. Cookie Policy The An ELI official described her as an average student. Like she did a movie and it involved me and Rachel, and she didn't tell us first. Mom accused me one day of being ashamed of who I was. WebMarina Nikolayevna Oswald had two daughters, a 21-month-old toddler and an infant born just five weeks before the assassination. This was before wiretapping got more sophisticated. Q: What are your thoughts on Norman Mailer's new book? Oswald was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on October 18, 1939 to Robert Edward Lee Oswald, Sr. (18961939) and Marguerite Frances Claverie (19071981). Robert Oswald died of a heart attack two months before Lee was born. Lee Harvey Oswald Daughters - Rachell and June - The Oswald Mystery of the JFK Files Watch on By all accounts, she was a devoted mom to her two daughters by Oswald June (now 51) and Rachel (now 50), who told The ENQUIRER: Yes, when asked if she believes her father was innocent. He wasn't much of a husband, he wasn't much of a father. She was born after her family moved to Dallas from Russia. You try to be nice because you don't want to make somebody upset who's going to seek you out if they're kooky enough to do that stuff anyway. Send her back to Texas and if she felt any sorrow at all for the horrible thing her husband did to Jackie and all of the decent citizens of the United States, she would go back to Russia (where she belongs), said a writer from the Upper Peninsula. When the executive committee of the church governing body, known as the Session, reached out to Oswald in late 1963, it had done so in secret in order that Mrs. Oswald might be free from the pressure of publicity in considering the offer. Its members never informed the Session or any other congregant of the invitation, or of Oswalds acceptance. This photograph of Lee Harvey Oswald was taken in Minsk and was confiscated by the FBI during the Kennedy assassination investigation. This portrait of Lee Harvey Oswald was confiscated by the FBI during the Kennedy assassination investigation. Marina Nikolayevna Prusakova and Lee Harvey Oswald stand in a park in Russia. I'm convinced that your mother and Priscilla had a sexual relationship." But the unmovable Marguerite remained unapologetic. She however remarried two years after Oswalds murder. A: Yes. Before the year came to a close, the churchs leaders would invite Oswald to Ann Arbor and offer to host her while she studied at U-M. A: I don't have a comment on it as far as its conclusions because I haven't read them, but I did start the book. Oct. 19, 2013 at Loyola University in New Orleans. Given everything above, you'd probably expect his return to be announced by dozens of men in dark glasses bundling him out the airport and into a mobile interrogation chamber. He was 99. Within weeks, donations topped $12,000 and by early 1964 would grow to $70,000 the equivalent of nearly $600,000 today. So if I'm able to be detached or seem cold and unemotional about it, it's because I look at Lee in those terms.Q: I assume you've seen the footage of Lee being shot by Jack Ruby. She his always felt really bogged down by it. Obviously, if I'd wanted to share that I would have told everyone a long time ago. Oct. 19, 2013 at Loyola University in New Orleans. And I'm gonna be in Dallas, and I want to sing it to you. I don't know if I could've done it and kept my sanity: two small children, don't speak the language, dirt poor, everybody in the country pointing their finger at you -- hating you in some cases. The law said that if they felt that way, then those documents needed to be turned over to the Assassination Records Review Board and those folks would review the records and either concur, release them in blacked out state or release them entirely. Are you able to maintain the same detachment when you see that?A: The first time I saw it I was very upset, but it gets to the point where it almost becomes unreal, this movie you're watching that has very little to do with you as a person. I have to remind Rachel that this is the man who beat our mother, who didn't provide for his children. If the truth can be found that shows Lee had nothing to do with the assassination, I would feel better in that there have been a lot of things said and done regarding my family that all proceeded from an erroneous perception of what he did or didn't do. There were a lot of things leading up to that that they wanted Mom to do, and Mom in recent years has gotten more and more involved, I guess because she's getting older and trying to rectify some of the things she may have done unintentionally -- like stating publicly that Lee did it. You have permission to edit this article. And I'm gonna be in Dallas, and I want to sing it to you.". My secretary in my last job put two and two together based on one of those articles. A few men sent letters to the ELI office in hopes of striking up a romantic relationship with Oswald. Wish there were more, by the family of Lee. The Michigan Daily published a special edition with news of President Kennedy's assassination. See for example this thread and interview: http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=659, http://www.jfkresearch.com/marina/marina.htm. Nonetheless, during several interviews over the past she reports being content. A: It was unusual. Citing an extensive collection of government records and personal accounts, Baker argued the governments investigations of President John F. Kennedys assassination, of which Oswald was charged, were flawed. This was before wiretapping got more sophisticated. He had been covering activities at the Dallas Police Department Building for KRLD and CBS News, standing no more than 11 feet from Oswald when he heard Jack Ruby's .38 revolver and saw Oswald fall. Cookie Settings, The Gunman and His Mother: Lee Harvey Oswald, Marguerite Oswald, and The Making of an Assassin, Dried Lake Reveals New Statue on Easter Island. This struck a chord with someone in the congregation who believed the church could help Lee Harvey Oswalds widow through education, assimilation and the English Language Institute. A: It's only in recent years that I've started to get into all that, mostly as part trying to get the records released. She is convinced that her phones are tapped by the Secret Service and the Secret Service wants to kill her. Q: Do you and Rachel argue much about this?A: Yes. Priscilla was a CIA asset, IMHO, as was June Cobb in Cuba. As America's obsession with her father goes on, a daughter tries to set the record straight. During her talk, Baker criticized newspaper reports that she said inaccurately portrayed Oswald as a mentally unstable communist. But dad is Dad. Well, that's what Rachel wants to believe. James R Leavelle, the detective who was handcuffed to Lee Harvey Oswald when the killer of John F Kennedy was in turn shot dead by Jack Ruby, has died. Nice to see you over here. Q: How old were you then?A: It would have been, like, first grade. The traditional campus response has been to treat such students no differently than any of the other young men and women in classrooms and dormitories. Then I find out he's been doing some quote-unquote assassination research. WebMarina met Lee Harvey Oswald (a former U.S. Marine who had defected to the Soviet Union) at a dance on March 17, 1961. There were times when we didn't have milk to drink. There were some who were quick and hot to say that what we did was unpatriotic. She mentioned that newspapers have never covered her story. But it was so funny because Mom talked to them for -- I mean, nobody noticed that the date wasn't there! Her combative attitude never wavered. She didn't feel like Kenneth was her dad. There's a lot of genetic things you can't even control that are inborn in your kids. Hey Dixie! WebHome in her husband's native Texas, life became difficult again for Marina Oswald. After her death from cancer on January 17, 1981, Marguerite Claverie Oswald was laid to rest in the Rose Hill Cemetery. Oswald has indicated a desire to continue her education and mastery of the language is a necessary preliminary to such study. She would be one of 28,000 students on campus. There were hysterics. Audrey Marina Rachel Oswald is the second daughter of Porter and her first husband Lee Harvey Oswald. Bakers talk came in preparation for the 50th anniversary of Kennedys assassination on Nov. 22. [quote name='John Geraghty' date='May 13 2006, 02:49 PM' post='62308'], Dixie, thanx for the interview. In her early years, grocery Q: When were you actually told about your father and the assassination? If she was led to LHO in Russia and then to his family after Dallas, what does that tell us? I believe he's the first writer-researcher to get interviews with sources in the Russian Government and so this is an opportunity to shed new light on the subject from an area that has never been explored in any meaningful depth. I tell her, "Rachel, for all we know, we could have been living in the streets." Bentley Historical Library, Vice President for Development records. I don't know if I could've done it and kept my sanity: two small children, don't speak the language, dirt poor, everybody in the country pointing their finger at you -hating you in some cases. thanks for posting that interview I had not read it before. "She never knew when we'd run into someone, and she didn't want us to look like poor white trash," June says simply. Despite his involvement with the Fair Play for Cuba Committee and other communist - sympathizing groups, Baker insisted Oswald had always remained loyal to theUnited States. The Loyola symposium was her first public appearance in 10 years after living in Europe, claiming she moves every 90 days. A review of Bakers book said Baker and Oswald were attempting to create a cocktail of toxins that would infect Castro with cancer while they worked at cover jobs at the Reily Coffee Company in New Orleans. Those who insist that the church should not become embroiled are really pressing for an irrelevant church, he preached. In 1980 she was convinced by conspiracy buffs that the one in Harveys grave was a Russian spy and not Oswald. Later that year the family moved from Russia to the United States. I've wondered what my kids are going to turn out like. My husband couldn't have cared less. Lee Harvey Oswald in custody on Nov. 22, 1963. She had been in the United States all of 17 months. His writing has been published byThe New Yorker, The New York Times, The New Republicand many others. That catches you off guard when you just wake up. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the son of Robert Edward Lee Oswald and Marguerite She remains protective of her privacy, distancing herself and her sons, ages 6 and 3, from the overall clique of assassination cultists who have dogged the Oswald women - Marina, now 53, June, and Rachel, 31 - ever since the events of Nov. 22, 1963. Mom was always overprotective of us. I can't imagine the burden they've carried over the years, but I hope they have found some peace in their lives. I have a copy of an earlier interview with June from 1983. For all I know it's still tapped. She was the aggrieved. I don't blame him for not being here for me. In the spring of 1961, Lee Oswald met Marina Prusakova at a dance in Minsk, Belarus. And I'll tell you why: It could come up at any minute.Q: Did you see the "Seinfeld" episode in which they're at the ball park, and they get spat upon, and --A: The "second spitter," right. He said he was frankly surprised at her command of English. And I said, "Yes?" Now, the word father does mean Lee to me, But dad is Dad. Mailer is such a great writer; I was just so enthralled. Marina Oswald with children June and Rachel. I do remember that our phones were tapped. The assassination has also been a constant in the life of June Oswald Porter, the 33-year-old daughter of Lee Harvey Oswald. I just remember crying a lot because Mom was crying. And I realize that I'm kind of cold about it, so how do I tell them? When the Session convened within a week of Oswalds arrival, half its members upset and embarrassed about being left in the dark were angry to the point of wanting to reprimand the church leadership. Twenty-eight years later, she granted this TV interview. Oswald worked sporadically at different jobs, such as a sheet-metal worker and a photoprint trainee. But it was so funny because Mom talked to them for - I mean, nobody noticed that the date wasn't there! I know some people can remember vividly like it was yesterday, but I don't do that - even about yesterday. "She never knew when we'd run into someone, and she didn't want us to look like poor white trash"' June says simply. I usually end up telling people that I'm seeing very often. I didn't really want to be the center of gossip in this whole building. I have to remind Rachel that this is the man who beat our mother, who didn't provide for his children. What do I tell them? The strongest reaction to Oswalds enrollment came from the people who were sponsoring her visit: the 2,300-member congregation of First Presbyterian Church. She thoroughly argued Oswald was medically mistreated after he was shot, presenting medical records that stated he was not given oxygen in the ambulance and was beat on his bullet wound to get him to confess. She had been in the United States all of 17 months. So this little boy she was going with, his parents were going to come get her and they were going to go to the dance. Porter married Oswald during his temporary defection to the Soviet Union and emigrated to the United States with him. Thanks for this. I can tell you that I am very excited about the book in concept. So I never connected it as a big negative or anything. Even an intended compliment could hold hidden barbs -- as when a male co-worker remarked on June's resemblance to "a young Marina Oswald," then immediately apologized, saying he "didn't mean to insult her" by invoking the infamous name. And we got to President Kennedy and I was told to go across the hall during that one. Just get out. And they got my mother on television in a live interview -- she still doesn't have a good grasp of the language -- and they were asking her specific questions about this book. I have to admit that when I heard that he used to play with me all the time, that was a nice feeling. 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