A Rare Photo of Oswald in the Marines
A Rare Photo of Oswald in the Marines
And comments from the veteran who found it.
A JFK Facts subscriber and former Marine sent this rare photo of Lee Harvey Oswald in June 1957, found in an online auction site, along with his observations about the young man at the left end of the second row.
“In the FMF (Fleet Marine Force), that kind of look is called a s*** eating grin,” the reader writes. “Its emblematic of someone with an arrogant attitude who thinks a lot of themself.”
The reader continued:
“Something that's been mentioned before is that Oswald's Squadron Mates poked fun at his Bohemian politics and bookish personality. This was not at all unusual for the time. Back in the late 1950s many young hipster types were caught in the draft and decided to make the best of a bad situation by volunteering for a more specialized military occupation. Oswald's antisocial attitude, his issues with authority, and having no inhibitions about speaking his mind was typical of this type of serviceman. Thus, every company, division, and squadron had its token beat hipster type.”
“Even military comedies of that time had some kind of hip character in the cast. This probably was what Oswald's Squadron mates and Officers perceived him to be- a Beatnik in Uniform. Otherwise known in the Marines as a "Turd Bird".
“Being as bookish and outspoken as Oswald was, he likely didn't make many friends in his squadron, which was probably why he tended to socialize off base with the local population. From accounts Oswald felt more relaxed and friendly around the Japanese than with his peers. There was also his interest in learning foreign languages, rather unusual for a young man at the time, especially in the Marine Corps.”
“Which possibly brought Oswald to the attention of Intelligence assets, both friend and foe.”
For more on the real Harvey Oswald, listen to my interview with Ernest Titovets, a medical student in Minsk who became friends with Oswald and wrote a fine book about him: Oswald: Russian Episode.
In response to the veteran comments, another possibility is that Oswald’s demeanor and attitude was designed to create a plausible cover for his false defection and subsequent sheep dipping.
Did Oswald accidentally blow his cover in a New Orleans radio broadcast?
During the Summer of 1963 Oswald debated an anti-Castro Cuban exile named Carlos Bringuer on New Orleans radio.
Oswald was asked if he had a government subsidy while living in Russia.
Oswald answered, "Well I worked in Russia and, I was under the protection of the United States, Uh I was under the Uh that is to say, I was not under the protection of the United States Government. But, I was always considered a United States citizen."
When the Warren Commission published a transcript of that debate they ADDED the word "NOT" in Oswald's first sentence giving a different meaning to the statement.
https://www.whokilledjfk.net/Navigation/altering_evidence.htm