"We have to get the Government to move before it's too late.". And they say: "Oh, we can take pictures? She described Michiganders as like the weather crisp and cool. She made no mention of her young daughters, and said she could not provide any interviews because she had a pending book contract. And she said, "June Oswald?" Others told us that our action was unwise, still others that it was unfair. Lee 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. Twenty-eight years later, she granted this TV interview. Raised by her stepfather, Rachel Oswald Porter didnt know who her birth father was as a young child. So I called my staff in, a group of 10 or so, and I said: "Yes, that is me in the article. And I realize that I'm kind of cold about it, so how do I tell them? 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. Advertising Notice And I'm gonna be in Dallas, and I want to sing it to you.". Both interviews I found in the JFK collection at the Dallas Public Library last November. There's a lot of genetic things you can't even control that are inborn in your kids.Q: How are things between you and your mom these days?A: The last two years have been very stressful, because she started doing things that she hasn't let us know about, then all of a sudden I hear about it or see it on TV. 1.65 m). Q: Do you and Rachel argue much about this? She wanted to know Lee; she wants lee to be a saint. Later that year the family moved from Russia to the United States. She sat us down, with my stepbrother, and started to explain who our father was -- that it wasn't Kenneth -- and who Lee was and what he had done. 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. 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. Very interesting. I didn't really want to be the center of gossip in this whole building. The only mention of So she became a sort of tourist attraction. Porter has said that she came to believe that her husband Lee Harvey Oswald was innocent. Nice to see you over here. We were studying the Presidents. It would seem a perfect fit for Oswald. There was a bill passed at the end of the Bush Administration that required all Government agencies to review their files for any information related to the assassination and to release it - unless they felt there were matters of national security or a couple of other issues. Q: Over the years, you've kept a pretty low profile. The reason she is here is that we can teach her more in a shorter period of time, said Catford, the Institutes director. Q: When were you actually told about your father and the assassination?A: Something had come up where Mom had old boxes of letters out. Or are we going to provide help simply because here is a human being in trouble who desperately needs help?. Q: I guess you must be encouraged that the review board was finally sworn in last year. Oswald has three children, two daughters, and one son. MORE THAN 30 YEARS AFTER the Kennedy assassination, Lee Harvey Oswald is a name that will not go away. ), When commission members presented her with paperwork written in English by her husband, she recognized his handwriting but did not comprehend the words. When money ran low, she sold a letter or document connected to Oswald or an article of his clothing. After a quick, makeshift service, Marguerite barely missed a beat before stepping up to a television camera: "Lee Harvey Oswald, my son, even after his death, has done more for his country than any other living human being.". For many years, the widow has avoided cameras while she tries to live a quiet life in Rockwall, northeast of Dallas. John F. Kennedy, on November 24, 1963, as Oswald was being transferred to a county jail. See for example this thread and interview: http://educationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=659, http://www.jfkresearch.com/marina/marina.htm. I did not call in the middle of the night however and I did not say I wished to sing my song to her. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. But I still have problems in that area, because I date a lot. She his always felt really bogged down by it. I always feel torn by whether I'm required to tell somebody about my history. WebDespite the fact that the later Warren Commission declared that Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin of President Kennedy, and he acted alone, many conspiracies about the assassination abound to the present day. But I don't remember that. A: Yes and no. We are very close -- except when these kinds of things come up. Q: How are things between you and your mom these days? Lee Harvey Oswald was the assassin of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. U-M has had its share of students with famous family ties often parents who are high-profile politicians, Hollywood stars and corporate CEOs. Audrey Marina Rachel Oswald passed away on aft July 16, 2013. They had no idea their church had offered to host her, to the point of leaders offering to pay for her transportation, housing and coursework out of their own pockets. I'm convinced that your mother and Priscilla had a sexual relationship." Its the first time weve seen pictures of her in about 20 years. A: Something had come up where Mom had old boxes of letters out. Why have you started to speak out?A: Well, there was a lot of misinformation being released related to a book, "Case Closed," by Gerald Posner. She should send James Files a letter. ", There was no expression of remorse, no regret, only an unceasing drive to carry on, fight on, despite the abandonment of her family and friends. But she did. My boyfriend would sneak down to Priscilla's basement and read all her old files. I do remember that our phones were tapped. So she became sort of a tourist attraction.Q: Your childhood doesn't sound like it was easy.A: Mom kept us together. My biggest concern was that people at the office had my home address and phone number and I didn't want it leaked to The National Enquirer I have two small children, I'm divorced, I didn't want people to harass the kids. But earlier this month, the Daily Mirror, the Judith Baker, author of "Me and Lee - How I came to know, love, and lose Lee Harvey Oswald," presents an article at a symposium on Sat. See the article in its original context from. My father is Kenneth Porter, the man I grew up with, the man who was there for my mother and Rachel and me. 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. In addition to attending classes, Oswald made several trips to Detroit, including to a Detroit Pistons game. There's a lot of genetic things you can't even control that are inborn in your kids. I don't blame him for not being here for me. He was 99. Q: Tell me about growing up in the aftermath of the assassination. I said in effect to each person who criticized, The one thing you havent shown us is that what we have done is unlike Christ., Sources: English Language Institute records; First Presbyterian Church (Ann Arbor) records; and Harlan Henthorne Hatcher Papers, all at the Bentley Historical Library; A history, the First Presbyterian Church of Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1826-1988: incorporating A sesquicentennial history 1976, newly revised and updated, editors Lila Miller, Robert M. Warner, Carl R. Geider; Warren Commission Report and Hearings; Follow Me, by Ernest T. Campbell. I had already written a we got to President Clinton to try to make sure he would appoint this review board from the Bush legislation to review assassination records, and to release those records. Whom do you really think of as dad? However, she was not implicated in the assassination but testified against Oswald during the Warren Commission hearings. Q: To what extent have you followed the various conspiracy theories?A: It's only in recent years that I've started to get involved in all that, mostly as part of trying to get the records released. She relied upon Russian interpreters during interviews with the Secret Service, FBI and the Warren Commission that investigated Kennedys assassination. Upon entering public school, June took the surname of her stepfather, Kenneth Porter, who married Marina in 1965. I don't know if it's the interview you mean but I have a copy of one with Rachael from 1995 from a publication called 'Texas Monthly'. He sold an article for an astronomical amount back then -- I think it was $25,000. At U-M, she would join 29 international students from Mexico, Israel, Greece, the Dominican Republic and elsewhere hoping to improve their English. I tell her, "Rachel, for all we know, we could have been living in the streets." But anonymity exacted a curious price of its own, as June faced myriad graceless references to her father, mother and family. I know you were just a toddler, but do you have any recollections of turbulence in the household? She copied it and put it on all my staff's desks. The first chapter opens with my family, and he goes way back to my great-grandmother in Russia. They first met last April in Washington. Reporters came over and she would tell us, "shhhh, go in the other room". Jack Ruby, in full Jack L. Ruby, original name Jacob Rubenstein, (born March 25?, 1911, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.died January 3, 1967, Dallas, Texas), American nightclub owner who killed Lee Harvey Oswald, the suspected assassin of Pres. She had been in the United States all of 17 So l never connected it as a big negative or anything. Before the casket was lowered, the lid was opened for the family to see Oswalds face one last time. Like she did a movie and it involved me and Rachel, and she didn't tell us first. Marina kept to her wordafter the days surrounding the assassination, neither June nor Rachel was ever allowed to see their grandmother again. She kept herself together for us.Q: Was any of this an issue in your marriage?A: No. Marina Oswald was left a widow with two young daughters after her husband was killed by Jack Ruby. And then, they tell a story about how after that I stood up in front of the whole class and said, "My father shot the President." He tried to after the arrest but everybody discounted it. And she's just welcoming them with open arms. Oswald's girlfriend offers variation on JFK assassination, Opinion: Put the coke back in coke for the sake of the American dream, A mysterious rave aims to revive the underground electronic scene in Baton Rouge, Why are young adults watching 'Bluey?' Mostly I feel bad that Lee was never able to tell his story. The assassination has also been a constant in the life of June Oswald Porter, the 33-year-old daughter of Lee Harvey Oswald. Moreover, Porter gave birth to her daughter, June Lee, on February 15, 1962. Just as many had sympathy and compassion for Oswald, others believed she was somehow complicit in her husbands killing of the president. She is convinced that her phones are tapped by the Secret Service and the Secret Service wants to kill her. Just get out. But see, I'm matter-of-fact about a lot in my life. 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 the unmovable Marguerite remained unapologetic. 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. Records do not show who conceived the idea to invite Oswald to study at U-M, only that the person was a member of First Presbyterian who also taught at the English Language Institute. The other thing is, you just worry genealogically. He was 99. Audrey Marina Rachel Oswald is the second daughter of Porter and her first husband Lee Harvey Oswald. Dr. Ernest T. Campbell, welcomed the idea as the one thing we might do to partially redeem the tragedy.. Q: How old were you then?A: It would have been, like, first grade. I move all the way up there, and his parents wouldn't even let us stay in his house because I was the daughter of Lee Harvey Oswald. I have two small children, I'm divorced, I didn't want people to harass the kids.Q: Give me an example of what you'd consider harassment.A: When I was pregnant with my first, some lady got my phone number and called in the middle of the night. She copied it and put it on all my staff's desks. He was not a communisthe was a Marxist, Baker said, explaining that Oswald agreed with the theory of Marxism but did not participate in communist activities. We lived in poor housing or were taken in by others. ", I said I appreciate it, but I really don't get involved in that. 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. Oswald. It made no mention of his brothers infamous place in history. Obviously, if I'd wanted to share that I would have told everyone a long time ago. "I have nothing and I survive. Standing outside the North University Building (located roughly near todays Biological Sciences Building), Oswald agreed to be photographed. Oswalds wife Marina, two daughters, brother Robert and mother Marguerite were the only mourners. 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. She was 23, neatly dressed in a skirt, sweater and winter coat, and looking like a graduate student with books tucked under her arm. It was one of many strange, discordant reactions that led many to question her sanity in the days and years aheadand to find the likely source of many of her sons problems. I usually end up telling people that I'm seeing very often. Image: Lee was illegitimate, and so was my mother. Marina Nikolayevna Oswald had two daughters, a 21-month-old toddler and an infant born just five weeks before the assassination. Are they going to take after some ancestor we don't even know? Mom accused me one day of being ashamed of who I was. Porter was born in the city of Molotovsk, in Arkhangelsk Oblast, in the northwest of the USSR. She came to New Orleans to give the discussion and promote her book, Me and Lee: How I Came to Know, Love and Lose Lee Harvey Oswald. Audience members received a book with their ticket purchase, and Baker signed copies throughout the day. Oh great!" I do blame him for having beat my mother, and not being a good father or a good provider. She kept herself together for us. The couple later married on April 30, 1961. The Michigan Daily published a special edition with news of President Kennedy's assassination. When my mother came on and this interview went so badly, I decided I really wanted to rebut. Together, they would learn and study five hours every weekday for eight weeks. Rachel loved listening to that. 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. As America's obsession with her father goes on, a daughter tries to set the record straight. And then she was gone. In this whole Building the USSR, `` Rachel, and he goes way back to my great-grandmother in.... Corporate CEOs others that it was easy.A: mom kept us together will not go away whether I 'm to... Call in the life of June Oswald Porter, the lid was for... Us, `` Rachel, for all we know, we can take pictures are we going to after., we can take pictures your marriage? a: no she was not implicated in the other room.... Lowered, the 33-year-old daughter of Porter and her first husband Lee Harvey Oswald was innocent record straight last! 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