[Sample B: Approval/Signature Sheet] - George Mason University

dates leading up to the assassination coincided with important dates in Robert Oswald’s
life, including Robert’s birthday, the birthday of his son, and the anniversary of his
marriage. These could be coincidences, according to Robert, or “they could be the result
of his realization that I had been lucky enough to achieve what he wanted and would
never achieve – a certain success in military life, a happy marriage, a good job,
reasonable financial security, and a son.” 211 Robert reached for a psychological
explanation for his brother’s alleged crimes, probing into his family’s troubled history
and finding a grim parallel to his own life.
In the pro-Warren Commission portraits of Oswald, though, contradictory
evidence about Oswald emerged. Oswald appears to have loved his children. Moreover,
the authors found that he never said anything negative about President Kennedy. He
impressed Russian émigrés with his knowledge of the Russian language. Oswald even
was something of a civil rights activist. When he appeared in a New Orleans court for his
part in a fracas while distributing “Fair Play for Cuba” leaflets, Oswald infuriated anti-
Castro Cuban activist Carlos Bringuier by sitting in the “colored” section of the
segregated courtroom. Some writers would build on these and other incidents in
Oswald’s life to portray him as an anti-hero, as discussed in chapter 4.
Robert Oswald, and other defenders of the Warren Commission, sought to better
understand the motivation of the alleged assassin. Many found the answer in Oswald’s
troubled life, his familial difficulties, and his reported mental problems. These authors
emphasized the “lone nut” portrait of Oswald, while downplaying his ideological
211 Oswald, 240.
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