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

avowed commitment to Marxism. The study of Oswald’s life showed that he was
“profoundly alienated from the world in which he lived,” and that his life was
characterized by “isolation, frustration, and failure.” 45 Although many considered
Oswald to be “a meek and harmless person,” the alleged assassin as portrayed by the
Commission had delusions of grandeur, imagining himself as “’the Commander’” and a
“political prophet.” 46 His commitment to Marxism testified to his rejection of U.S.
society. In general, the Commission always opted for the most negative interpretation of
Oswald’s life, weeded out contrary information, and obscured evidence of Oswald’s
connections to U.S. or Soviet intelligence agencies, or at least the interest of these
agencies in a former Marine who ostensibly defected to the Soviet Union and then
returned to the United States.
The Commission claimed a significant factor in shaping Oswald’s character was
the death of his father two months before his own birth in New Orleans on October 18,
1939. This strained the family finances, and the young Oswald spent some time in an
orphanage because his domineering mother, Marguerite, had to work. Assassination
researcher Jim Marrs claimed this was really an early form of day-care, which was not
generally available at that time, because Marguerite would care for the children during
her weekends off from work. 47 The Commission’s portrayal of Marguerite indicated
that the panel also considered her a factor in creating what the panel claimed was
45
WC Report, 376.
46
WC Report, 376.
47
Jim Marrs, Crossfire: The Plot that Killed Kennedy, (New York: Carroll & Graf
Publishers, Inc., 1989) 97.
32