(Testimony of Mrs. Marguerite Oswald Resumed)
Mr. Rankin.
Did you ever know that he shot himself while he was in the Marines?
Mrs. Oswald.
I read that in the paper.
Mr. Rankin.
He never told you that?
Mrs. Oswald.
No, sir. And I read in the paper that it could have been an accident.
Mr. Rankin.
Did you know anything about how good a shot he was? Did he ever tell you that?
Mrs. Oswald.
Lee came home with a trophy, but it is a Marine trophy--may I have that please, I need a number. It is not on this. We have another picture. But it had Lee Harvey Oswald. But it was given not to him, but to the platoon. And he was very, very proud of it. Lee was very proud of his Marine hitch, because every time he came on leave, that is all he talked about. That I know. And I am the only one that knows this.
Mr. Rankin.
Was that trophy with regard to marksmanship?
Mrs. Oswald.
Yes. Now, Marina would have that. I gave that to Lee and Marina when they returned from Russia, and the Marine book that Lee was so proud of, and the baby book that I had all these years. And I think it was in regard to marksmanship.
Now, I have Lee's--they are copying all of this, Mr. Doyle Lee's shooting record. I have that, sir. I have anything you want. It was left in his sea bag. And all of this was left in Lee's sea bag.
This is a picture of Lee with his marines, and it is a special, I think he was doing special work there. I am not familiar--I wasn't told that. But it is different than the other picture. Lee went to many, many a school, gentlemen. He went to the Marine Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, to schooling. He went to Jacksonville and some others. I remarked, "Your brothers were not sent from here to there like you were." Lee was in Japan, Lee was in Corregidor, Lee was in the Philippines, and Lee was in Formosa. That has not been publicly stated.
Mr. Rankin.
Do you know what schooling he had at these various places?
Mrs. Oswald.
No, sir. I would think that it was special schooling.
Mr. Rankin.
He never told you?
Mrs. Oswald.
No, sir. But the other brothers didn't have that type schooling. And I even remarked about it.
Mr. Rankin.
Did you ever hear your son say anything for or against President Kennedy?
Mrs. Oswald.
While Marina and Lee were in my home that month, and I had a television----
Mr. Rankin.
About what time was that?
Mrs. Oswald.
This was July, 1962--when they stayed the month with me. Yes, they were .delighted with President Kennedy, both.
Mr. Rankin.
What did they say about him?
Mrs. Oswald.
Nothing political--just "Like President Kennedy." He was telling Marina about President Kennedy. "I like President Kennedy"--"I like, too."
My son has never said anything to me politically about anyone. My son loved the Marines, and loved his work and has never, never said anything against--the only time I questioned my son was ask him why he decided to come home, and he said, "Not even Marina knows that."
That was the one question I wanted to know, because of the many things that they sent me from Russia, as I have previously stated. That was the only thing. So that satisfied me.
Mr. Rankin.
Did you know anything about his guns--what guns he had?
Mrs. Oswald.
Oh, this is very important, and I am glad you brought this up. This is the part in New Orleans that I forgot about.
While Lee was working for Tujague & Co. he started to have a bank account, and it was in a Homestead. I do not know the name, but it was on Canal Street, 900 or 100 block of Canal Street, because it was even with Exchange Place. And he started to save his money. The purpose of saving his money was to go on a tour with a young group. He was working for a steamship place as a mess engineer so he was going around to all of these seagoing trips.
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