Marina Nikolayevna Oswald Porter ( Prusakova; russian: Марина Николаевна Прусакова; born July 17, 1941) is the Russian-American widow of
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963.
Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...
, the assassin of US President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
.
Early life
Porter was born Marina Nikolayevna Prusakova in the city of Molotovsk (now
Severodvinsk
Severodvinsk ( rus, Северодвинск, p=sʲɪvʲɪrɐdˈvʲinsk) is a city in the north of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia, located in the delta of the Northern Dvina, west of Arkhangelsk, the administrative center of the oblast. As of the 2 ...
), in
Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast (russian: Арха́нгельская о́бласть, ''Arkhangelskaya oblast'') is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (an oblast). It includes the Arctic Ocean, Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land ...
, in the northwest of the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
. She lived there with her mother and stepfather until 1957, when she moved to
Minsk
Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...
to live with her uncle Ilya Prusakov, a colonel in the
Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR (MVD; russian: Министерство внутренних дел СССР (МВД)) was the interior ministry of the Soviet Union from 1946 to 1991.
The MVD was established as the successor to th ...
, and to study pharmacy.
Life with Oswald
Marina met
Lee Harvey Oswald
Lee Harvey Oswald (October 18, 1939 – November 24, 1963) was a U.S. Marine veteran who assassinated John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, on November 22, 1963.
Oswald was placed in juvenile detention at the age of 12 fo ...
(a former
U.S. Marine
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
who had defected to the Soviet Union) at a dance on March 17, 1961. They married six weeks later and had a daughter, June Lee, born the following year. In June 1962, the family emigrated to the United States and settled in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Texas. At a party in February 1963,
George de Mohrenschildt
George Sergius de Mohrenschildt ( ru , Георгий Сергеевич де Мореншильд; April 17, 1911 – March 29, 1977) was an American petroleum geologist, professor, and known CIA informant. De Mohrenschildt is best known for havi ...
introduced the couple to
Ruth Paine
Ruth Hyde Paine (born September 3, 1932) was a friend of Marina Oswald, who was living with her at the time of the JFK assassination. According to four government investigations, Lee Harvey Oswald stored the 6.5 mm caliber Carcano rifle that ...
, a
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
and Russian language student.
In January 1963, Oswald mail-ordered a
Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.
Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" in 1856 ...
.38 revolver and then, in March, a
Mannlicher–Carcano rifle.
Later that month, as Marina told the
Warren Commission
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States Pr ...
, she took only one photograph of Oswald dressed in black and holding his weapons along with an issue of ''
The Militant
''The Militant'' is an international socialist newsweekly connected to the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) and the Pathfinder Press. It is published in the United States and distributed in other countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, Aus ...
'' newspaper, which named ex-general
Edwin Walker
Edwin Anderson Walker (November 10, 1909 – October 31, 1993) was the only U.S. Army general officer to resign his commission amid his tour of duty in the 20th century. After serving in World War II and the Korean War Walker became better know ...
as a "fascist." Despite her sworn testimony that she took only one photo, the Warren Commission had two different poses of Lee Oswald, and they browbeat Marina into supposing that she might have ''accidentally'' taken the second pose. Since then, history has yielded four different poses, and a credible statement of one more.
These photos became known as the "backyard photos" of Lee Oswald, which some conspiracy theorists dismissed as fake. The series of photographs was later found in the garage of the Paine household, with the exception of one, which had been given to George de Mohrenschildt. The photograph given to de Mohrenschildt was signed and dated by Lee Oswald on April 5, 1963. It also has a quote attributed to Marina in Russian, the translation of which reads "Hunter of Fascists, Ha-Ha-Ha!!!" Marina denied writing the inscription in her 1977 testimony to the
HSCA
The United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) was established in 1976 to investigate the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963 and 1968, respectively. The HSCA completed its ...
.
In April 1963, Marina and her daughter moved in with Ruth Paine (who had recently separated from her husband,
Michael
Michael may refer to:
People
* Michael (given name), a given name
* Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael
Given name "Michael"
* Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...
). Lee Oswald rented a separate room in Dallas and briefly moved to
during the summer of 1963. He returned to Dallas in early October, eventually renting a
room in a boarding house in the
Oak Cliff
Oak Cliff is a neighborhood of Dallas, Texas, that was formerly a separate town in Dallas County; Dallas annexed Oak Cliff in 1901. It has since retained a distinct neighborhood identity as one of Dallas' older established neighborhoods.
Oak Cl ...
neighborhood of Dallas. Paine learned from a neighbor that employment was available at the
Texas School Book Depository
The Texas School Book Depository, now known as the Dallas County Administration Building, is a seven-floor building facing Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas. The building was Lee Harvey Oswald's vantage point during the assassination of United Sta ...
, and Oswald was hired and began working there on October 16, 1963, as an order filler. On October 18, Marina and Ruth Paine had planned a birthday party for Oswald. They put up some decorations and got a birthday cake and wine. Oswald was so moved by the gesture that he had tears in his eyes. He remained emotional throughout the evening, crying and apologising to Marina for all the things he had put her through. On October 20, Marina gave birth to a second daughter, Audrey Marina Rachel Oswald at
Parkland Memorial Hospital
Parkland Memorial Hospital is a public hospital in Dallas, Texas, United States. It is the main hospital of the Parkland Health & Hospital System and serves as Dallas County's public hospital. It is located within the Southwestern Medical Dis ...
. Her husband continued to live in Oak Cliff on weekdays, but stayed with her at the
Paine household in Irving on weekends, an arrangement that continued until Oswald was arrested for the assassination of President Kennedy.
Assassination of John F. Kennedy
Marina learned of the
assassination
Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have ...
of
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
from the media coverage of the event, and later, of the arrest of her husband. That afternoon,
Dallas Police Department
The Dallas Police Department, established in 1881, is the principal law enforcement agency serving the city of Dallas, Texas.
Organization
The department is headed by a chief of police who is appointed by the city manager who, in turn, is hir ...
detectives arrived at the Paine household, and when asked if Lee owned a rifle, Marina gestured to the garage, where Oswald stored
his rifle rolled up in a blanket; no rifle was found. She was subsequently questioned both at the Paine household and later at Dallas Police Department headquarters, in reference to her husband's involvement in the assassination of the President and the shooting of Dallas police officer
J. D. Tippit. Marina testified that when she saw her husband, he was calm but “by his eyes I could tell that he was afraid. He said goodbye to me with his eyes. I knew that.”
She was widowed at age 22, two days after the assassination when Oswald was fatally shot by
Jack Ruby
Jack Leon Ruby (born Jacob Leon Rubenstein; April 25, 1911January 3, 1967) was an American nightclub owner and alleged associate of the Chicago Outfit who murdered Lee Harvey Oswald on November 24, 1963, two days after Oswald was accused of th ...
as Oswald was being transferred from the City Jail to the County Jail. Marina asked to go to Parkland Hospital to see Oswald's body. She opened his eyelids and said, “He cry, he eye wet.“ After the assassination of Kennedy and the arrest of her husband, Marina was under
Secret Service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
protection until she completed her testimony before the
Warren Commission
The President's Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as the Warren Commission, was established by President Lyndon B. Johnson through on November 29, 1963, to investigate the assassination of United States Pr ...
. She made a total of four appearances before the commission. Questions about her reliability as a witness were expressed within the commission, particularly in regard to her claims about an assassination attempt on General
Edwin Walker
Edwin Anderson Walker (November 10, 1909 – October 31, 1993) was the only U.S. Army general officer to resign his commission amid his tour of duty in the 20th century. After serving in World War II and the Korean War Walker became better know ...
, and her allegation that Lee Oswald had intended to assassinate
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
. In her testimony, she stated her belief that her husband was guilty, an opinion she reiterated in testimony before the
House Select Committee on Assassinations
The United States House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) was established in 1976 to investigate the assassinations of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. in 1963 and 1968, respectively. The HSCA completed its i ...
in 1978.
Later life
She remained at first in
Dallas
Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...
, Texas. Donations sent to her by anonymous donors totaled about $70,000. She sold Lee's Russian diary for $20,000 and a picture of him holding the gun used to shoot Kennedy for $5,000. She also attempted, but failed, to gain possession of the gun in order to sell it.
In 1965 she enrolled at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
, but she later returned to Dallas and bought a house.
['']The Death of a President
''The Death of a President: November 20–November 25, 1963'' is historian William Manchester's 1967 account of the assassination of United States President John F. Kennedy. The book gained public attention before it was published when Kennedy' ...
'' by William Manchester
William Raymond Manchester (April 1, 1922 – June 1, 2004) was an American author, biographer, and historian. He was the author of 18 books which have been translated into over 20 languages. He was awarded the National Humanities Medal and the ...
, p. 635 (paperback)
In 1965 she married electronics worker Kenneth Jess Porter, with whom she had a son, and whom she later accused of domestic violence.
In 1989, she became a naturalized United States citizen.
[ (November 22, 1996)]
Though she has not formally recanted any of her Warren Commission testimony, Marina has said that she now believes that Oswald was completely innocent of the murders of Kennedy and Tippit
and that the "Prayer Man" seen on the steps of the Book Depository at the time of the assassination was Lee (see
John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories
The assassination of President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963 spawned numerous conspiracy theories. These theories allege the involvement of the CIA, the Mafia, Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson, Cuban Prime Minister Fidel Castro, the K ...
).
[Dane, Stan. ''Prayer Man: The Exoneration of Lee Harvey Oswald'' (Martian Publishing, 2015), p. 190. ]
See also
*
Marguerite Oswald
Marguerite Frances Claverie Oswald Ekdahl (also known as Marguerite Oswald), (July 19, 1907 – January 17, 1981) was the mother of Lee Harvey Oswald.
Early life and family New Orleans and Dallas
Oswald was born Marguerite Frances Claverie in 1 ...
References
Bibliography
* .
* .
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Porter, Marina Oswald
1941 births
Soviet emigrants to the United States
American pharmacists
Living people
People associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy
People from Rockwall, Texas
People from Severodvinsk
American people of Russian descent
John F. Kennedy conspiracy theorists
Naturalized citizens of the United States