Complexity: The Essence of Lee Harvey Oswald's Life

Complexity: The Essence of Lee Harvey Oswald’s Life

A study of Lee Harvey Oswald’s life generates many more questions than answers, and the truth of his role in the assassination of President John F. Kennedy likely won’t be learned in this lifetime.

Did he kill JFK November 22, 1963? Did he work alone, or with others? Was the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald two days after the assassination of President Kennedy part of a complex cover-up? What impact did the two -and-a-half years Oswald lived in Russia, 1959-1962, have on the assassination?


Facts about Lee Harvey Oswald’s life include the following:

* Born October 18, 1939 in New Orleans

* 1940-1956 Father having died before his birth, Oswald lives with his mother and in children’s homes at total of 21 different addresses, attending 12 different schools in Texas, Louisiana, and New York

* 1955 Reads works of Karl Marx, proclaims himself a Marxist

* October 26, 1956 Joins Marine Corps underage, using false affidavit signed by his mother

* September 1957 Deployed as aviation electronics operator to Atsugi Air Base, Japan: home of U-2 spy plane, CIA operations site for espionage in China

* June 27, 1958 Jailed second time at Atsugi; first for possession of unregistered weapon, second time for fight with sergeant

* 1958 Becomes outspoken supporter of Fidel Castro, Cuba

* September 11, 1959 Released from Marine Corps

* Within days, goes to Helsinki, Finland, acquires six-day pass to Russia, then journeys to Moscow and applies for political asylum

* Request denied, he cuts his hand deeply in apparent suicide attempt, is hospitalized six days, then has Russian stay extended

* 1960-1962 Watched continuously by Russian KGB

* April 30, 1961 Marries Marina Pruskova, niece of an intelligence officer for Russia’s Minister of Interior, after knowing her only six weeks

* May 1962 Oswalds, who eventually have total of two children, return to U.S. and live in Fort Worth, then Dallas where they live with organized crime leader Charles Murret

* April 10, 1963 Allegedly attempts to assassinate General Edwin Walker, prominent member of John Birch Society; attempt fails because bullet is deflected by window; police don’t find assailant

* August 9, 1963 Jailed for fight over pro-Castro leaflets he’s distributing, Oswald asks for, receives visit from FBI operative; quickly released with $10 fine, and within five days participates in Castro debate on Dallas radio station

* November 22, 1963 JFK assassinated in Dallas

* November 24, 1963 Jack Ruby murders Oswald

The KGB, which daily monitored Oswald’s activities during his stay in Russia, claims in a report released to the public in 1992 that Lee Harvey Oswald didn’t possess the skills to kill President Kennedy on his own.

Yet, even the mysteries of his life in Russia are mind-boggling. Receiving housing, work, and even gaining a marriage license as quickly as Oswald did during his brief stay in that country were extraordinary events.

No, Lee Harvey Oswald’s life story is, and likely will remain a mystery.