Oswald's Travels
Lee Harvey Oswald dropped out of high school seven years before he was arrested for the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. In the intervening years, he spent time in Japan, the Soviet Union, Mexico, and the southern and western United States. Here is a closer look at some of his travels.
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Fort Worth, Texas
July 1956
Enrolls at Arlington Heights High School but drops out after less than a month.
San Diego, California
October 1956
Enlists in the U.S. Marine Corps and begins basic training.
El Toro, California
July 1957
Prepares to ship off to Japan as a member of the 4th Replacement Battalion at the Marine Corps Air Station.
Atsugi, Japan
September 1957
Accidentally shoots himself in the arm a month after arriving and is court-martialed twice -- first for illegal possession of a firearm and then for assaulting a superior. He spends time with his unit in the South China Sea and Taiwan.
El Toro, California
December 1958
After a 30-day leave, returns to the Marine Corps Air Station in El Toro, California.
New Orleans, Louisiana
September 1959
Sails for Europe after release from active duty.
Moscow, USSR
October 1959
Tries to defect but is rejected by Soviet authorities. Attempts suicide and later hands in his American passport at the U.S. Embassy.
Minsk, USSR
January 1960
Sent to Minsk, where he meets Marina Prusakova in 1961. They marry soon after and have their first child in 1962.
Fort Worth, Texas
June 1962
Arrives with Marina in the United States after securing a visa for her. They move in temporarily with Oswald's brother, Robert.
Dallas, Texas
October 1962
Begins work as a trainee at Jaggars-Chiles-Stovall Co., a graphic arts company, but is fired half a year later. In April, 1963, he allegedly attempts to assassinate General Edwin Walker.
New Orleans, Louisiana
October 1962
Works at Reilly Coffee Company and also advocates for the Fair Play for Cuba Committee, a group that supports the Cuban Revolution.
Mexico City, Mexico
September 1963
Spends three days trying, unsuccessfully, to secure Russian and Cuban visas.
Dallas, Texas
October 1963
Hired to work at Texas School Book Depository. John F. Kennedy is assassinated on November 22 and Oswald is arrested soon after. Investigators say Oswald shot Kennedy from a sixth-floor window in the Texas School Book Depository building.
Source:
John McAdams, Marquette University; Warren Commission Report
Produced by Jan Rádl
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