8mm home movie of Oswald family on Thanksgiving Day, November 22, 1962
Exactly one year to the day prior to the Kennedy assassination, and one month following the Cuban missile crisis in October, the Oswald family gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving at the Fort Worth home of Robert Oswald on November 22, 1962. The reunion of the three brothers was arranged by Robert (1934-2017) and included Lee and their older half-brother John Pic (1932-2000) as well as their spouses and children. Their mother, Marguerite Oswald, was not invited to the family gathering. That Thanksgiving gathering was the first time that the three brothers had been together since 1953.
Warren Commission exhibit #320 is a handwritten letter to Robert Oswald from brother Lee, dated November 17, 1962. In the brief letter, Lee wrote, "In answer to your kind invitation for thanksgiving we'd love to come and will be in Ft. Worth thanksgiving morning. We shall come by bus and I'll give you a ring on the phone from the bus station (about 9:00-10:00). See you soon." The letter may be found in Commission Vol. 16 on page 884.
When he testified to the Warren Commission in May 1964, John Pic recalled this Thanksgiving reunion. Referring to Lee, he said, "Well, I still was wondering if he was going to have this feeling of hostility toward me that he had shown the last time he had seen me, but it didn't manifest itself whatsoever. He introduced me to his wife, and I gave her a kiss, and his child." John Pic recalled bringing Lee a coffee pot as a gift as well as a stuffed animal for their daughter, June. When asked by the Commission if Lee "expressed dissatisfaction with the United States or its government," Pic responded, "I think his only bitter feelings that I recollect was his dishonorable discharge from the Marine Corps." At the conclusion of his testimony, Pic added, "The Lee Harvey Oswald I met in November of 1962 was not the Lee Harvey Oswald I had known ten years previous. This person struck me as someone with a chip on his shoulder, who had these purposes I mentioned, to do something about... to repay the government and get his discharge changed. It appeared to me that he was a good father towards his child, and not knowing the conversation between he and his wife I couldn't form much of an opinion there."
Robert Oswald also discussed this Thanksgiving reunion during his Warren Commission testimony in 1964. He described his brother Lee as appearing "very fit physically and very alert mentally" at the time, adding that Lee and Marina "seemed affectionate--both of them appeared to be--and I believe this still to be so--very affectionate to the baby June Lee Oswald." Interviewed decades later, Robert reflected on that last Thanksgiving with his brother, "I was feeling good. We didn't talk about politics or anything heavyweight that day. Just family stuff. Enjoying each other and the kids."
Lee, Marina and June Oswald were picked up at Robert's home that afternoon by an acquaintance, Paul Gregory. Gregory testified to the Warren Commission that after picking up the Oswalds, he brought them to the Gregory home for sandwiches before taking them to the bus station. Gregory discussed this last encounter with Lee Harvey Oswald in this Living History program at the Museum in 2023: Living History with Dr. Paul Gregory, which also features this home movie. His 2023 oral history may be found here: Dr. Paul R. Gregory Oral History – Works – Oral History Collection – Collections – The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza. - Stephen Fagin, Curator
