Oswald's 1959 passport application - explain this please, if you can

[John Mytton]

It appears to me that LHO was a meticulous planner. His planning for the attempted Walker assassination seems to me to be a good example of him over-planning, although also for being prudent to help avoid being caught. Perhaps his planning for his defection was also over-planned to provide some contingencies. Or maybe just some diversions to confuse things a bit. His use of his alias Hidell might be another example of an attempt to confuse or deceive and try to “cover his tracks.”

Anyway, I have often thought that his imprisonment in the brig in the Marines would have been likely to affect him and his inflated ego profoundly. Maybe he decided during his imprisonment to become the enemy of the people who imprisoned him. Some of the language in some of his letters to his brother Robert seem to confirm those types of feelings. Here is a timeline from that period in time:

April 11, 1958: LHO is court-martialed for the first time for illegal possession of a firearm.
 
June 27, 1958: LHO is court-martialed for the second time for assaulting a superior and
sentenced to the brig.
 
August 13, 1958: LHO is released from confinement.
 
September 14, 1958: LHO and his unit sail for the South China Sea.
 
September, 1958: LHO's unit arrives in Taiwan, where he suffers a nervous breakdown
and is sent back to Japan.
 
October 5, 1958: LHO arrives in Atsugi.
 
October 6, 1958: LHO is put on general duty.
 
October 31, 1958: LHO receives his last overseas rating, a 4.0.
 
November 2, 1958: LHO departs Japan.
 
November 15, 1958: He arrives in San Francisco.
 
November 19, 1958: LHO takes 30 days leave.
 
December 22, 1958: LHO is assigned once again to El Toro, this time with MACS-9.
 
January, 1959: LHO is given his semi-annual ratings, which are average.
 
February 25, 1959: LHO requests a foreign language test in Russian and scores "poor".
 
March 9, 1959: LHO is promoted to Private 1st Class again.
 
March 19, 1959: LHO applies to the Albert Schweitzer College in Switzerland.
 
Spring, 1959: LHO meets Kerry Thornley, who often engaged him in political debate and
years later would write a book based on him.
 
June 19, 1959: LHO forwards a $25 registration fee to the Albert Schweitzer College.
 
July, 1959: LHO is given his semi-annual ratings, which are average.
 
August 17, 1959: LHO requests a dependency discharge because of an injury sustained
by his mother.


The nervous breakdown appears to me to be indicative that LHO no longer wanted to serve in the USMC. They were now “his enemy.”

Thanks, there's some interesting facts here.

Oswald was 18 when he had a nervous breakdown and along with being diagnosed earlier with psychological problems which required Professional help, which by the way he never received, paints a picture of a troubled, possibly unhinged young man. I wonder if he got that help, then Oswald's assassination attempt on General Walker, the successful attempt on the President and the cold blooded killing of Tippit, might never have happened? Or was his solution of violence his only answer? I suppose if you ask Marina his wife who copped a hiding, she'd probably agree?

Also Oswald's premeditated attempt on Walker's life was as you say meticulously planned, Oswald ordered a rifle under an alias and just days before Oswald posted the order, he took surveillance photos of Walkers house, the position he planned to take the shot, the railway tracks where he planned to bury the rifle and in addition, Oswald had a map of General Walker's location all of which he filed in a notebook. Oswald was into James Bond novels which he borrowed from the library "Goldfinger", "Thunderball", "Moonraker", and "From Russia, with Love" and two paperbacks "Live and Let Die" and "The Spy Who Loved Me" which he had in his possessions. Did Oswald pretend he was a secret agent on a mission, who had a licence to kill?

Another interesting fact is Oswald apparently watched Frank Sinatra's "Suddenly" a film about an assassin who wanted to kill the President from a building which looked down on a train station where the President was going to be.

Mr. RANKIN. Do you recall films that he saw called "Suddenly," and "We were Strangers" that involved assassinations?
Mrs. OSWALD. I don't remember the names of these films. If you would remind me of the contents, perhaps I would know.
Mr. RANKIN. Well, "Suddenly," was about the assassination of a president, and the other was about the assassination of a Cuban dictator.
Mrs. OSWALD. Yes, Lee saw those films.

I can just see Oswald thinking he was Frank Sinatra as Oswald picked the appropriate window and later taking the shots. Well, Sinatra in the film didn't get the chance because his co-conspirators botched the plan and that's an interesting parallel, I think Oswald thought of himself as smart enough that he could do it all on his own and he got the job done but he didn't have the time to think through all the contingencies of his escape and was promptly caught!





JohnM

[Dan O'meara]

This is from George Michael Evica's, "A Certain Arrogance".

"That interest began when Oswald, still an active Marine, applied for his passport on September 4, 1959 and received it on September 10, out of Los Angeles. Though Oswald reportedly had possession of his birth certificate while in the Soviet Union, which was the usual identification when applying for a passport, he submitted a Department of Defense (DOD) I.D. Card.

But except for several crucial and undeniable reasons, Lee Harvey Oswald should never have had a DOD I.D. card on September 4, 1959: possibly on September 11th, but not on September 4th.

The Department of Defense card was allegedly found in a wallet belonging to Oswald just after his arrest at the Texas Theatre on November 22, 1963. The card clearly signaled to those who understood it that the bearer had some official connection to U.S. Intelligence, and the Marine Corps confirmed it had issued the card to Oswald before he was released from active duty. But the practice of issuing that type of card to Marine reservists ended officially as of July 1959. According to a Marine Corps public affairs officer, Oswald was probably issued the military I.D. card because he was about to fill a civilian position overseas which required it.

Was Oswald scheduled to begin a new job that would take him to Europe as an asset or agent of the CIA, or as a civilian employee of the Office of Naval Intelligence?

A helpful Marine Corps public affairs officer could not explain how on September 4, 1959, in Santa Ana, California, Oswald apparently submitted to the Clerk of the Superior Court, L.B. Wallace, an "MCR/INACTIVE I.D. CARD #N4, 271, 617," in his passport application. Officially, Oswald would not have been issued that card until September 11th, the day he was "released from Active Duty and transferred to the Marine Corps Reserve...."

Can't say if this is accurate or not or if it's of any importance.
As a side question - If Oswald was displaying overtly Communist tendencies while he was in the Marines, would he be breaking any specific laws?
I only ask because I get the impression that even the faintest whiff of anything remotely Commie during the the height of the Cold War was being brutally crushed.
Not that any of this has any bearing on a conspiracy, it just adds to the collection of things that seem a bit 'off' regarding Oswald.

LATER EDIT

I'm assuming it's this card but maybe wrong:



There is at least one stamp on the card which appears to read Oct 23, 1963 (it might be two stamps, one on top of the other)

[Dan O'meara]

Evica goes on to say this about the stamp on the ID card:

On the copy of Oswald's DOD card in the Dallas Police evidence files, one postmark, and possibly another, can be seen. The clearest is stamped October 23, 1963, but the card had officially expired over 10 months earlier on December 7, 1962. On the reverse side of the card were the instructions: "If found, drop in any mail box," and "Return to Department of Defense, Washington 25, D.C."

Is there any way to extract some sense from this postal noise?

The DOD card existed in someone's possession in Santa Ana, California, when it was used to obtain Oswald's passport in September 1959. But no official record of the card existed until it was supposedly found in Lee Oswald's wallet.

But someone also possessed the card after September 1959, and either "lost" it before October 23, 1963, or kept it until that day. The card entered U.S. Post Office records when it was delivered to the Department of Defense in Washington, D.C. Between October 23rd and November 22, 1963 the card must then have matriculated down to Dallas and into Oswald's wallet.

Not 100% sure what any of that means.
Does the stamp mean it was in the possession of the Post Office on 23 Oct '63?

[Charles Collins]

This is from George Michael Evica's, "A Certain Arrogance".

"That interest began when Oswald, still an active Marine, applied for his passport on September 4, 1959 and received it on September 10, out of Los Angeles. Though Oswald reportedly had possession of his birth certificate while in the Soviet Union, which was the usual identification when applying for a passport, he submitted a Department of Defense (DOD) I.D. Card.

But except for several crucial and undeniable reasons, Lee Harvey Oswald should never have had a DOD I.D. card on September 4, 1959: possibly on September 11th, but not on September 4th.

The Department of Defense card was allegedly found in a wallet belonging to Oswald just after his arrest at the Texas Theatre on November 22, 1963. The card clearly signaled to those who understood it that the bearer had some official connection to U.S. Intelligence, and the Marine Corps confirmed it had issued the card to Oswald before he was released from active duty. But the practice of issuing that type of card to Marine reservists ended officially as of July 1959. According to a Marine Corps public affairs officer, Oswald was probably issued the military I.D. card because he was about to fill a civilian position overseas which required it.

Was Oswald scheduled to begin a new job that would take him to Europe as an asset or agent of the CIA, or as a civilian employee of the Office of Naval Intelligence?

A helpful Marine Corps public affairs officer could not explain how on September 4, 1959, in Santa Ana, California, Oswald apparently submitted to the Clerk of the Superior Court, L.B. Wallace, an "MCR/INACTIVE I.D. CARD #N4, 271, 617," in his passport application. Officially, Oswald would not have been issued that card until September 11th, the day he was "released from Active Duty and transferred to the Marine Corps Reserve...."

Can't say if this is accurate or not or if it's of any importance.
As a side question - If Oswald was displaying overtly Communist tendencies while he was in the Marines, would he be breaking any specific laws?
I only ask because I get the impression that even the faintest whiff of anything remotely Commie during the the height of the Cold War was being brutally crushed.
Not that any of this has any bearing on a conspiracy, it just adds to the collection of things that seem a bit 'off' regarding Oswald.

LATER EDIT

I'm assuming it's this card but maybe wrong:



There is at least one stamp on the card which appears to read Oct 23, 1963 (it might be two stamps, one on top of the other)

But except for several crucial and undeniable reasons, Lee Harvey Oswald should never have had a DOD I.D. card on September 4, 1959: possibly on September 11th, but not on September 4th.



August 17, 1959: LHO requests a dependency discharge because of an injury sustained
by his mother.
 
August 28, 1959: His request is recommended for approval.
 
September 4, 1959: LHO is transferred to H. & H. Squadron.
 
September 4, 1959: LHO applies for a passport.
 
September 10, 1959: The passport is issued.
 
September 11, 1959: LHO is released from active duty in the Marine Corps.

https://www.jfk-assassination.net/parnell/chrono.htm

I am not sure what exactly an H & H Squadron is. However, the H & H Squadron appears to me to be associated with his dependency discharge. Just guessing, but it seems to me that the H & H Squadron might be like a Squadron where they keep short term personnel that are in the process of being discharged. If so, getting his discharge paperwork (including the card in question) accomplished as part of that transfer to the H & H Squadron might be normal protocol.

[Dan O'meara]

But except for several crucial and undeniable reasons, Lee Harvey Oswald should never have had a DOD I.D. card on September 4, 1959: possibly on September 11th, but not on September 4th.



August 17, 1959: LHO requests a dependency discharge because of an injury sustained
by his mother.
 
August 28, 1959: His request is recommended for approval.
 
September 4, 1959: LHO is transferred to H. & H. Squadron.
 
September 4, 1959: LHO applies for a passport.
 
September 10, 1959: The passport is issued.
 
September 11, 1959: LHO is released from active duty in the Marine Corps.

https://www.jfk-assassination.net/parnell/chrono.htm

I am not sure what exactly an H & H Squadron is. However, the H & H Squadron appears to me to be associated with his dependency discharge. Just guessing, but it seems to me that the H & H Squadron might be like a Squadron where they keep short term personnel that are in the process of being discharged. If so, getting his discharge paperwork (including the card in question) accomplished as part of that transfer to the H & H Squadron might be normal protocol.

This is from "List of decommissioned United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons", Wikipedia:

The basic tactical and administrative unit of United States Marine Corps Aviation is the squadron. Fixed-wing aircraft squadrons (heavier than air) are denoted by the letter "V," which comes from the French verb "Voler" (to fly). Rotary wing (helicopter) squadrons use "H." Marine squadrons are always noted by the second letter "M." Squadron

It would appear Oswald was transferred to a helicopter squadron on the 4th. As you say, this would probably require him needing the ID card.

[Charles Collins]

This is from "List of decommissioned United States Marine Corps aircraft squadrons", Wikipedia:

The basic tactical and administrative unit of United States Marine Corps Aviation is the squadron. Fixed-wing aircraft squadrons (heavier than air) are denoted by the letter "V," which comes from the French verb "Voler" (to fly). Rotary wing (helicopter) squadrons use "H." Marine squadrons are always noted by the second letter "M." Squadron

It would appear Oswald was transferred to a helicopter squadron on the 4th. As you say, this would probably require him needing the ID card.

Interesting, thanks. Something tells me that his earlier squadron leaders were happy to see him go…

[Lance Payette]

We would have to believe that, in March of 1959, LHO had already decided he would defect to Russia and had, for some reason, already targeted Finland as his destination for contact with a Soviet consulate. Nevertheless, LHO made no effort to establish any paper trail with Finland. Instead, he applied to the ASC in Switzerland, 1,300 miles from Finland and followed this up by paying the application fee in June. The only mention of Finland was in his March application to ASC, where he said he planned to attend a summer session at Turku after the spring session at ASC. The whole “ASC thing” was completely unnecessary unless it was sincere.

We would also have to believe that (1) LHO realized in March he would be applying for a passport before leaving the USMC; (2) he knew he would still be subject to active duty travel restrictions at that time (assuming this was even true); and (3) he thus concocted the ASC story many months in advance in order to give himself an educational purpose when needed down the road. Are we to believe that this is all true but LHO made no effort to establish a similarly plausible reason for visiting Finland (other than a statement in his application to ASC that no one but ASC would ever see)? Wouldn’t the more obvious scheme have been to forget about ASC and simply establish contact with Turku or some other Finnish school? As a plan or cover story for a defection, what LHO did simply makes no sense.

Further questions still remaining would be (1) how would LHO have known in March of 1959 that Helsinki was a better place to defect than any other Soviet consulate (assuming it was); (2) if the only advantage of Helsinki was speed, why would gaining a few days have been significant to him in March; and (3) why not simply wait until his USMC commitment was over and he didn’t need any excuse or cover story for visiting any country as a tourist?

We then turn again to listing Cuba and Russia on his passport application. Why would he have done this? Why invite the questions this might raise if he already had in place his educational excuse with ASC and was indicating on the passport application that he would be traveling for only four months? It simply makes no sense.

Indeed, none of this makes sense as anything resembling a “cover story” or “careful planning.” All of what Charles says is true, but it’s also true that ten days before applying to ASC he had once again been promoted to Private 1st Class (as Charles notes) and was in no danger of leaving the USMC on anything other than honorable terms in nine months (and in July his performance review was average). All I can suggest is that (1) his interest in ASC and Turku was sincere in March and June; and (2) at some point thereafter he decided to defect and for some reason he wanted to do so before his commitment was up. As to why he would have listed Cuba and Russia on his passport application, I have no convincing theory other than Oswald being Marxist Me for his own amusement. From the application to ASC in March to the passport application in September, no one being guided by an intelligence agency would have done what LHO did.