Oswald and the CIA: The Documented Truth About the Unknown Relationship Between the U.S. Government and the Alleged Killer of JFK (39 page)

On January 23, 1962, Oswald responded with characteristic dualism to the embassy suggestion. He complained about their January 15, 1962, request for a support affidavit for Marina," arguing that his two-year absence from the U.S. made this difficult. On the same day Oswald wrote to his mother asking that she file such an affidavit with the Immigration and Naturalization Service.25

The letter suggesting that Oswald leave without Marina had another noteworthy feature: It appeared to use Oswald's request for a loan as a lure to get him to the embassy. "The question which you raise of a loan to defray part of your travel expenses to the United States," the letter said, "can be discussed when you come to the Embassy." By February 6, however, the embassy had a change of heart. On this day, American Consul Joseph B. Norbury sent Oswald a letter saying, "We are prepared to take your application for a loan." Norbury instructed Oswald to provide twelve items of information, in triplicate copy.26

On February 1, 1962, Oswald again wrote to his mother.21 The State Department had notified her that it would need $900 to make the travel arrangements for Lee and Marina.28 Oswald dismissed his mother's suggestion that she raise money by telling his sad financial story to the newspapers.29 In his February 9 letter to his mother,30 he reminded her to file the affidavit for Marina and to send him clippings from the Fort Worth newspapers about his defection to Russia. Oswald gave the same assignment to his brother Robert.31 Oswald told his mother that he wanted these clippings so that he could be "forewarned."32 His January 30 letter to Robert included this passage: "You once said that you asked around about whether or not the U.S. government had any charges against me, you said at that time `no.' Maybe you should check around again, its possible now that the government knows I'm coming they'll have something waiting."33

On the morning of February 15, 1962, Oswald took Marina to the hospital in Minsk, where she gave birth to their first daughter, June Lee, at ten A.M.34 That same day, Oswald wrote to his mother,35 and to his brother.36 On February 23, the Oswalds brought their baby home from the hospital." After the birth of June Lee, the health of the mother and baby obviated any sense of urgency over the date of departure for the U.S.38 Oswald wrote to his mother on February 2439 and his brother on February 2740 that he did not expect to arrive for several months .41 His return was just over three months away.

There were a few setbacks, however. Oswald did not get as much money as he asked for. On February 24, 1962, he wrote to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow asking for his loan.42 The embassy received his letter on March 3. Oswald wanted $800.43 The embassy wrote back that they would lend him only $500.44 On February 26, Senator John Tower received an undated letter from Oswald asking for help in returning to the U.S." The same day, Senator Tower forwarded Oswald's letter to the State Department.46 What happened there is hard to explain. In spite of the confusion that existed in the State Department in early 1961 over the legal question of whether Oswald had renounced his citizenship, it was no longer an issue by early 1962. Oswald had never signed the papers, a fact duly noted by U.S. officials in Moscow and Washington. Now, in February 1962, the U.S. State Department decided that Oswald had never attained Russian citizenship." Therefore the State Department might have some difficulty explaining why a November 25, 1963, New York Times story reported that the department had told Senator John Tower (in February 1962) that Oswald had renounced his citizenship. According to the article, Senator Tower then closed his Oswald file.48

Oswald's correspondence with Texas picked up noticeably as he prepared for his return to America. On January 20, 1962, Oswald had written to his mother,"' and three days later wrote to her again.SO Marguerite responded, and it was from this correspondence that Oswald learned that the Marines had given him a dishonorable" discharge from the reserves.S2 This again provoked fears of prosecution, prompting Oswald to write his brother Robert asking for more informations' On that day, Oswald also wrote to former Secretary of the navy John ConnallyS4 to protest his undesirable discharge from the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves. "I ask that you look into this case," Oswald's letter said, and then added presumptuously, "and take the necessary steps to repair the damage done to me and my family."55 Connally referred the letter to the Department of the Navy, and on February 23, 1962, Connally politely wrote to Oswald that his letter of January 30, 1962, had been turned over to the secretary of the navy, Fred Korth.' The Navy sent Oswald a letter stating that the Navy decided "that no change, correction or modification is warranted in your discharge."S'

In a March 3, 1962, cable, four days before the Marine Corps mailed Oswald his undesirable discharge, the 921 E2 section of the Office of Naval Intelligence sent a strongly worded message to the Navy Liaison officer in Moscow. Written by LTJG P. C. LeSourde (who also helped manage the Gerry Patrick Hemming case at this ONI office), the cable recalled Oswald's acts during his defection, including his offer to share his military knowledge with the Soviets. The cable's ominous tone was indicative of what was to follow: On March 7, 1962, the USMC sent Oswald his certificate of undesirable discharge.S" Oswald was incensed, and on March 22, 1962, he wrote back protesting their decision and insisting that his discharge be given a full review.59 The department promptly replied that it had no authority to hear and review petitions of this sort and referred Oswald to the Navy Discharge Review Board.60 Oswald filled out an enclosed application for review while in Minsk but did not mail it until he returned to the United States.61 More letters were exchanged-on April 2 from the USMC62 to Oswald and on April 28 from Oswald to the USMC63-but nothing was accomplished.

Then Oswald's situation improved. By February 28, the San Antonio office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service sent word to him that Marina's visa petition had been approved.64 By March 28, he had received an affidavit of support on Marina's behalf from his mother's employer, Byron Phillips (a Texas landowner from Vernon, Texas)," which Oswald filed even though it was no longer necessary to do so.66 In March 1962, Phillips had agreed to sponsor Marina as a U.S. immigrant." There followed several communications to Texas: letters to Marguerite on March 2868 and April 21,69 a card to Mrs. Robert Oswald on April 10,70 and a letter to Robert on April 12,7' in which Oswald wrote that only "the American side" was holding up their departure. Oswald added, however, that since the winter was over, he didn't "really want to leave until the beginning of fall, since the spring and summer [in Russia] are so nice."72

In fact, Oswald had nothing to complain about. From the available documents, a strong case could have been made-and Oswald knew and feared it-to prosecute him under military or civilian espionage laws. As things stood in the spring of 1962, he was lucky to be coming home without facing the consequences of his actions, and to have had all the U.S. bureaucratic obstacles removed, possibly too easily, so that he could be accompanied by his wife and child. Discussions with the embassy to complete financial and travel arrangements continued in April and May,73 and finally, on May 10, the embassy wrote to Oswald saying that everything was in order, inviting him to bring his family to the embassy to sign the official paperwork."'

At his request,75 Oswald was discharged from his job at the radio factory on or about May 18,76 an event he recorded in his work- book.77 The final resolution of his trip plans led to a new round of mail. On May 21, Oswald wrote to his brother again," telling Robert that he and his family would leave for Moscow on May 22 and depart for England ten to fourteen days later, then cross the Atlantic by ship. Repeating a point he had made in an earlier letter to his mother, Oswald said that he knew from the newspaper clippings what Robert had said about his defection to Russia, and suggested that Robert had talked too much. Oswald now asked him not to offer comments to the newspapers.79

The Oswalds spent their last night in Minsk with Pavel Golova- chev.80 A "Minsk" exit visa was stamped in Oswald's passport on May 22, 1962.81 His clearance procedures for departure included an interview with an official of the MVD.82 On May 24, 1962, the embassy in Moscow renewed Oswald's U.S. passport, amending it to reflect June Lee's birth.83 All three arrived in Moscow on May 2454 and, after filling out various documents at the embassy, Marina was given her American visa.BS The rest was up to the Soviets. On May 26, Marina's passport was stamped in Moscow,86 and on May 30, Oswald wrote to his mother from Moscow, "We shall leave Holland for the USA on June 4."87

On June 1, 1962, Oswald borrowed $435.71 from the U.S. State Department for his return trip, 88 and on June 2 the Oswalds boarded a train for Holland,89 which passed through Minsk that night,90 crossed the Russian border at Brest,91 and transited Poland and Ger- many.92 On June 3, Oswald's passport was stamped at the Oldenzaal Station, in the Netherlands.93 Marina recalled having spent two or three days in Amsterdam.94 On June 4, 1962, the Oswalds' steamship tickets were delivered to them in Rotterdam. On June 6, they departed on the Maasdam, a Holland-American Line ship,95 bound for New York.96 On board the ship, the Oswalds stayed by themselves; Marina later testified that she did not often go on deck because she was poorly dressed and her husband was ashamed of her.97 On the Maasdam, Oswald wrote some notes on ship stationery that appear to be a summary of what he thought he had learned by living under both the capitalist and Communist systems.98

On June 5, 1962, the New York Department of Health, Education and Welfare notified the New York Travelers Aid Society that the Oswalds were coming." The Maasdam landed at Hoboken, N.J., at one P.M. on June 13.100 The Oswalds were met by Spas T. Raikin, a representative of the Travelers Aid Society, which had also been contacted by the Department of State. Raikin said he had to chase Oswald, who tried to "dodge" him. Raikin had the definite impression that Oswald wanted to "avoid meeting anyone."101 When they talked, Oswald told Raikin that he had only $63 and no plans for that night or for travel to Fort Worth. Oswald, says Raikin, accepted the society's help "with confidence and appreciation."102 They passed through customs and immigration, with Raikin's help,"' without incident.104

The Travelers Aid Society handed the Oswalds over to the New York City Department of Welfare, which found the family a room at the Times Square Hotel.105 In one of the many different versions of his Soviet story, Oswald told both Raikin and the welfare department representatives that he had been a marine stationed at the American Embassy in Moscow, had married a Russian girl, renounced his citizenship, and worked in Minsk; soon he found out, he said, that Russian propaganda was inaccurate, but he had been unable to obtain an exit visa for Marina for more than two years. He also said that he had paid the travel expense himself.106 Of course, Oswald had not been a marine stationed at the embassy, had not renounced his citizenship, had not worked for two-plus years on Marina's visa, and had not paid for his or their travel himself. Oswald's motives for telling these needless lies are obscure.

When the New York City Welfare Department called Robert Oswald's home in Fort Worth, his wife answered and offered to help. She contacted her husband, who sent $200 immediately.107 At first Oswald refused to accept the money. He insisted that the welfare department should pay his family's fare to Texas, and threatened, apparently thinking the welfare department would suffer from the publicity, that they would go as far as they could on his $63 and then rely on "local authorities" to get them to Fort Worth. The welfare department was not intimidated by such tactics and Oswald had no choice but to accept his brother's money.108 On the afternoon of June 14, the Oswalds flew from New York to Fort Worth.109

Meanwhile, across the Mississippi River in Louisiana, events were unfolding in the underworld of Cuban exiles and CIA Cuban operations, the focal point of which was the port city of New Orleans. Oswald's entanglement with this world was just months away. Eleven days after Oswald stepped off the plane in Fort Worth, an anti-Castro group from the Florida Everglades, including Gerry Hemming, came to New Orleans with the help of Frank Bartes, the AMBUD delegate there. AMBUD was the Agency cryptonym for the Cuban Revolutionary Council (CRC), a CIA-funded and controlled organization that had extensive operations in New Orleans. It is to Gerald Hemming's story that we now turn.

Hemming III: The Los Angeles Gun Incident

On January 30, 1962, an event took place that created a new batch of paperwork on Hemming, and something even more interesting. The trigger event occurred in Los Angeles, where the Sheriffs Office reported picking up a .45-caliber U.S. government pistol, serial number 1504981-SA, at 0200 A.M. Based on an anonymous tip, the police located and removed the pistol from a parked car.10 Thirty minutes later, Hemming walked into the police station. The resulting police report described the event this way:

At 2:30 AM, 1-30-62, a Gerald P. Hemming Jr. of 3843 East Blanche St., Pasadena entered Temple Station and informed us that the .45 automatic was his. Mr. Hemming stated the automatic was issued to him by the US Government Central Intelligence Agency in Miami, Florida approximately nine months ago and that he, Mr. Hemming, has been in training for a free-lance organization regarding Cuban invasion. Mr. Hemming stated he was a friend of Dodd's and that he had left the pistol at Dodd's Barber Shop and that it had disappeared from there. This detail contacted Central Intelligence Agency, a Mr. DeVanon, who said he could neither confirm nor deny the issuance of this pistol to Mr. Hemming; that he would appreciate no publicity be given the incident and that he would contact Lt. Wilber of this detail tomorrow morning with further information."'

Shortly thereafter, the Agency field office in Los Angeles notified CIA headquarters of the Sheriffs Office report containing Hemming's claim that he was a "CIA agent," and that he "was training people in Florida for another invasion."