Marina Oswald Porter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marina Oswald Porter
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Porter (then Prusakova) in Minsk, 1961
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Marina Nikolayevna Prusakova
July 17, 1941 Molotovsk, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now Severodvinsk, Russia)
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| Citizenship | United States |
| Occupation | Pharmacist |
| Known for | Marriage with Lee Harvey Oswald |
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| Children | 3 |
Marina Nikolayevna Oswald Porter was born on July 17, 1941, with the last name Prusakova. She is a Russian-American pharmacist. She was married to Lee Harvey Oswald. Marina was born in the Soviet Union in 1941. She moved to the United States after marrying Lee Harvey Oswald, who had lived in the Soviet Union for a while. After President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and her husband was killed, Marina spoke to a special group called the Warren Commission. She later married an American electronics worker named Kenneth Jess Porter and became a citizen of the United States. Marina has a son with Kenneth and two daughters from her marriage to Oswald. At first, Marina believed what the Warren Commission said. However, she later had doubts and thought that Oswald might have been innocent.
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Early Life and Education
Marina Nikolayevna Prusakova was born in a city called Molotovsk. This city is now known as Severodvinsk, in Russia. She lived there with her mother and stepfather until 1957. Then, she moved to Minsk to live with her uncle, Ilya Prusakov. Her uncle was a high-ranking officer in the country's police force. While in Minsk, Marina studied to become a pharmacist. She received her diploma on June 29, 1959, after studying at the Leningrad Pharmaceutical School for four years.
Marriage to Lee Harvey Oswald
Marina met Lee Harvey Oswald at a dance on March 17, 1961. Lee was a former U.S. Marine who had moved to the Soviet Union. They got married six weeks later, on April 30. Their first daughter, June Lee Oswald, was born in February 1962. In June 1962, the family moved to the United States. They settled in Fort Worth, Texas, where Lee's brother Robert lived.
In February 1963, at a party, a friend named George de Mohrenschildt introduced Marina and Lee to Ruth Paine. Ruth was a Quaker and was studying the Russian language. The Oswalds later moved to Dallas and then to New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1963. They returned to Dallas later that year.
In January 1963, Lee Oswald bought a revolver by mail. In March, he bought a rifle.
On March 2, Lee's landlord told him to stop hitting his wife or move out. The Oswalds quickly moved to a new apartment. Later that month, Marina took pictures of Oswald. He was dressed in black and holding his weapons. He also held a newspaper that called a former general a "fascist." These pictures are known as the "backyard photos" of Lee Oswald. Some people who believe in conspiracy theories think these photos are fake. Two of these photos were later found in the garage of the Paine family's house. A third photo was with George de Mohrenschildt.
The photo given to de Mohrenschildt was signed and dated by Lee Oswald on April 5, 1963. This was five days before an attempt to harm General Walker. de Mohrenschildt showed this photo to a special committee in 1977. This happened shortly before he died. The photo was similar to one published in LIFE magazine in early 1964. However, it showed more of the background. The picture also had a message in Russian that said, "Hunter of Fascists, Ha-Ha-Ha!!!"
In April 1963, Marina and her daughter moved in with Ruth Paine. Ruth had recently separated from her husband. Lee Oswald rented a separate room in Dallas. He briefly moved to New Orleans during the summer of 1963. He came back to Dallas in early October. He then rented a room in a boarding house in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas.
Ruth Paine heard from a neighbor that there were jobs at the Texas School Book Depository. Oswald was hired and started working there on October 16, 1963. He worked as an order filler. On October 18, Marina and Ruth Paine planned a birthday party for Oswald. They put up decorations and got a cake and wine. Oswald was very touched by this. He cried and apologized to Marina for everything he had put her through. On October 20, Marina gave birth to their second daughter, Audrey Marina Rachel Oswald. Her husband continued to live in Oak Cliff during the week. But he stayed with Marina at the Paine household on weekends. This continued until Oswald was arrested for the assassination of President Kennedy.
The Assassination of President Kennedy
Marina learned about the assassination of John F. Kennedy from the news. Later, she heard about her husband's arrest. That afternoon, police officers came to the Paine household. When asked if Lee owned a rifle, Marina pointed to the garage. Oswald kept his rifle there, rolled up in a blanket. However, no rifle was found. Marina was questioned by the police about her husband's involvement in President Kennedy's death. She was also questioned about the murder of a Dallas police officer.
Marina and Oswald's mother arrived at Dallas City Hall that evening. Marina was shown a rifle by an officer. She said she was not sure if it was Lee's rifle. An officer later reported that Marina did not clearly identify the rifle. On the afternoon of November 23, Marina and her mother-in-law talked to Lee. Marina said that when she saw her husband, he was calm. But she could tell by his eyes that he was scared. She felt he was saying goodbye to her with his eyes.
Marina became a widow at age 22, on November 24. This was when Oswald was killed by Jack Ruby. Marina asked to go to the hospital to see Oswald's body. She opened his eyelids and said, "He cry, he eye wet."
Marina stayed in a hotel with a business advisor, James H. Martin. He said she received many letters of sympathy, but also some threats. After the assassination and her husband's arrest, Marina was protected by the United States Secret Service. This protection lasted until she finished giving her testimony to the Warren Commission. After the assassination, her house was secretly listened to by the FBI. Marina testified that she had never heard anything bad about Kennedy from Lee. She also said that while in Russia, Oswald told her he would vote for Governor John Connally when he returned to the United States. In her testimony, she said she believed her husband was guilty. She repeated this belief in 1978 to another committee. She claimed that Oswald's reason for his actions was not political.
Later Life
After the assassination, Marina rented a house in Richardson, Texas. This is a town near Dallas. She also found work as a clerk in a drugstore. She received about $70,000 in donations from people she didn't know. This amount would be worth much more today. She sold Lee's Russian diary for $20,000. She also sold a picture of him holding the rifle for $5,000. She tried to get the rifle itself to sell it, but she was not successful. Marina did not want to change her name. She received several marriage proposals. She worried about her children. She said she felt sympathy for Mrs. Kennedy. Marina said, "It's hard enough to lose a bad husband... I wonder how it is to lose a good one." In November 1964, Marina Oswald became very stressed and sad. She went to a hospital for nervous exhaustion.
In January 1965, Marina started studying at the University of Michigan. But she later returned to the Dallas area and bought a house in Richardson. In 1981, Marina had Oswald's body dug up. This was to prove wrong a claim that a Russian agent who looked like Oswald was buried instead of him. In 1989, she became a citizen of the United States.
Marriage to Kenneth Jess Porter
On June 1, 1965, Marina married Kenneth Jess Porter. He worked with electronics. They traveled to Fate, Texas, and were married by a judge. Two months later, Marina accused Kenneth of domestic violence during an argument about leaving the children alone. The judge told them to stay out of the public eye and stop arguing.
Marina moved to Rockwall, Texas with her husband and family. They avoided public attention for many years. The Porters had a son. On October 8, 2024, Kenneth died at their family home at the age of 86.
Beliefs About the Kennedy Assassination
Marina has not officially changed any of her statements to the Warren Commission. She said she initially wanted to deny that her husband could be guilty. However, in interviews since the late 1980s, Marina has said that she now believes Oswald was completely innocent. She thinks he was not involved in the murders of President Kennedy and Officer Tippit. She also believes Oswald worked for the government. Jim Martin, her manager, said that even though she testified against him, he didn't think she truly believed he was guilty. A Dallas Police detective, Jim Leavelle, who was with Oswald when he was shot, sometimes had meals with Marina. He said Marina would try to find out if he had any doubts about Oswald's guilt.
In 2018, Marina was asked about a theory that an unidentified "prayer man" seen in a film during the assassination was Oswald. Marina said, "It's Lee." She still believes that Oswald was the "prayer man."
Marina's daughters have also given some interviews. They have expressed doubts about Oswald's guilt. They say they just want to know the truth. In a 1995 interview, June Oswald, Marina's oldest daughter, was asked about her father's guilt or innocence. She said, "It would make a difference in the sense of justice being served. If the truth can be found that shows Lee had nothing to do with the assassination, I would feel better in that there have been a lot of things said and done regarding my family that all proceeded from an erroneous perception of what he did or didn't do."
See also
In Spanish: Marina Oswald para niños
