A "MR. SNOW" SAID:
The note he [Lee Harvey Oswald] left for Marina that morning [11/22/63], implying he was going to attempt a dangerous and momentous act.
DAVID VON PEIN SAID:
Just for the record, Mr. Snow, the above comment about the note is not correct. Oswald left no note on November 22, 1963.
You're probably thinking about LHO's detailed note of instructions for Marina after he went to shoot Walker in April '63.
MR. SNOW SAID:
Thanks for the correction, DVP--quite right. I still think the note he left is interesting in what it says about Oswald's general state of mind around this time... And the fact that he tried to assassinate Walker shows that he wasn't at all squeamish about trying to take someone's life.
"ROARK" SAID:
Didn't Oswald leave a note with the money saying "Buy some shoes for June"? A minor point, if a point at all. If DVP doesn't know, no one does!
DAVID VON PEIN SAID:
I don't believe so, roark.
But I do think there's always been a little bit of confusion and ambiguity with respect to the conversation between Marina and Lee after he awoke on the morning of Friday, November 22nd.
I've heard and read different accounts of the conversation that supposedly occurred between the Oswalds early that morning, and some sources have Lee and Marina not talking to each other at all during the early morning hours of 11/22 before LHO left for work, with Marina apparently remaining asleep during this entire time.
One such source is the 1964 David Wolper movie "Four Days In November", which is the best film ever made about the JFK assassination, IMO, and includes very few errors of fact (at least I have spotted very few factual errors in that 2-hour documentary film; one of the few mistakes is when narrator Richard Basehart says that Lee Oswald was wearing a jacket when he entered his roominghouse at about 1:00 PM on Nov. 22; but the record is pretty clear that he left his blue jacket at the TSBD, and was not wearing any jacket when he was seen by housekeeper Earlene Roberts that day).
But with respect to what occurred just after LHO woke up on the 22nd, narrator Basehart specifically tells the movie audience that Lee left for work "without awakening anyone" (after Lee fixed himself his usual cup of instant coffee).
This leads us to think, via the movie's narration, that Lee never said a word to Marina that morning (at least it always leaves me with that impression whenever I watch the film, which is quite often). Basehart doesn't mention Lee's leaving behind the $170 or his wedding ring either.
But back to the specific "Did Lee Leave Behind A Note On Nov. 22?" topic.....
There's the following Warren Commission testimony from Marina Oswald herself:
MARINA OSWALD -- "One detail that I remember was that he had asked me whether I had bought some shoes for myself, and I said no, that I hadn't had any time. He asked me whether June needed anything and told me to buy everything that I needed for myself and for June and for the children. This was rather unusual for him, that he would mention that first."
[Then, a little later in Marina's testimony, there is this exchange:]
J. LEE RANKIN -- "Then did he [LHO] say anything to you that morning at all, or did he get up and go without speaking to you?"
MARINA OSWALD -- "He told me to take as much money as I needed and to buy everything, and said goodbye, and that is all."
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/oswald_m1.htm
So, per Marina's testimony above, it would appear as if Lee told Marina to do certain things via spoken words, vs. writing them out in written (note) form.
Vincent Bugliosi, in his book "Reclaiming History", also has the above conversation taking place on the morning of 11/22 (with no mention of Lee leaving behind any note at all).
David Von Pein
December 18, 2008
A PHOTO FROM
THE KENNEDY GALLERY:
