(Testimony of Bernice Waterman)
Representative Ford.
officer of the United States in a foreign state; been convicted by court martial of deserting the military, air or naval service of the United States in time of war; or of committing any act of treason against or of attempting by force to overthrow or of bearing arms against the United States; or departed from or remained outside the jurisdiction of the United States for the purpose of evading or avoiding training and service in the military, air, or naval forces of the United States. If any of the above mentioned acts or conditions are applicable in the applicant's case, or to the case of any other person included in this application, a supplementary statement under-oath should be attached and made a part hereof."
Representative Ford.
That is signed by Lee Harvey Oswald.
Miss WATERMAN. That is signed by Lee Harvey Oswald. And his statement here indicates and shows the performance of no such act as is described on the first page of the application.
Representative Ford.
Any one of those conditions, however, in that statement would indicate that he had renounced his citizenship?
Miss WATERMAN. It could. But, in other words, he now says----
Representative Ford.
He says some place in there he is without nationality. Did you have that at the time----
Miss WATERMAN. "I am described as being without citizenship." That is right. In other words, it is questionable whether the Embassy should have crossed out "have not." In other words, he might have said I have done this, but his explanation----
Representative Ford.
That is what the document shows.
Miss WATERMAN. But his explanation clearly shows that he had not.
Mr. Dulles.
Do you know whether that was noted at the time, or deemed to be a clerical error, or how did you interpret that crossing out of that particular line there?
Miss WATERMAN. Well, in any event--I actually cannot recall, Mr. Dulles. But the questionnaire, which was also under oath, at the Embassy, would be the material part here. And there is no information in here to show that he had been naturalized. He said he was not known as a Soviet citizen, he did not have a Soviet passport. And as for the other items of possible expatriation, I don't see how they could have applied to him, in any event.
Representative Ford.
Mr. Coleman, I suggest that, to make the record complete as to what the evidence was in the file, that we have reprinted in the record at this point Commission Exhibit No. 912, because it was a followup statement by Oswald on the status as he saw it of his citizenship at that time.
Mr. Coleman.
You want the reporter to print physically in the record Commission Exhibits Nos. 912 and 913, the two Oswald letters?
Mr. Dulles.
Just one question. I note here this is typed out. The line I saw had been marked out. I think it is a fair inference that this was typed out, since the typing was probably done in the American Embassy. He had no typewriter. There is a fair inference that might have been a mistake.
Representative Ford.
All we can go by is what the record shows.
Mr. Dulles.
I think we ought to clarify that through the record in Moscow, because the record is not good at this point.
Mr. Ehrlich.
There is another copy, as you know, that came in from the Embassy that we sent to you that showed in fact--it was not a carbon, it was a separate one, in which the "have" was----
Mr. Coleman.
That is Commission Exhibit No. 947.
Mr. Ehrlich.
That was in the Embassy. It was not in the Department.
Mr. Dulles.
There the. "X's" were above everything, but probably were intended to mark out the "have."
Representative Ford.
Is Commission Exhibit No. 938 the original?
Representative Ford.
This is a photostat of the original?
Miss WATERMAN. The original is in the Department's file.
Mr. Coleman.
Congressman Ford, the original document is right physically in front of you.
Representative Ford.
That one is crossing out his "have not." It is very clear.
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