Unveiling the Story of Marina Oswald Porter – Lee Harvey Oswald’s Wife
Credits: Library of Congress
As we navigate through the tumultuous waves of American history, we encounter the enigmatic figure of Lee Harvey Oswald. From his infamous role in world history as the murderer of President John F. Kennedy to his personal life, Oswald remains a subject of considerable intrigue.
Among the facets less known, however, is his wife, Marina Oswald Porter. Let’s delve into the captivating tale behind Oswald’s life and his relationship with Marina.
Lee Harvey Oswald: The Infamous Assassin of President Kennedy
Lee Harvey Oswald found his way into the annals of history as the man arrested for assassinating the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy, on November 22, 1963.
The President’s motorcade was going through a plaza teeming with spectators. From a sixth-floor window of the Texas School Book Depository building, it is alleged that Oswald, armed with a 6.5 Carcano Model 91/38 carbine rifle, fired three shots.
One of these proved fatal and killed the President. Oswald’s subsequent arrest, followed by his own murder two days later by Jack Ruby, a Dallas nightclub owner, has incited numerous conspiracy theories, rendering his story even more complex and the assassination an enduring topic of debate.
But who was Oswald before this infamous act?
A Complicated Childhood that Shaped the Villain
The enormity of his crime sometimes overshadows that he was once a regular family man.
Born in 1939 in Louisiana, Oswald would have turned 82 this year. During his childhood, their family life was not very stable after his father’s death and his mother’s remarriage, and he had some encounters with temperamental and violent behavior, which led him to attend a psychiatric reformatory.
In 1956, Oswald dropped high school and enlisted in the Marine Corps.
A couple of years later, and after some incidents, he defected to the Soviet Union. He traveled to Minsk to work, where he met Marina.
Marina Oswald and her Married Life
Marina Nikolayevna Prusakova was born in Molotovsk in 1941. Years later, she moved to Minsk to study pharmacy and lived with her uncle, a colonel in the Soviet Ministry of Internal Affairs.
She met Oswald at a dance in Minsk in March 1961, and they married only six weeks later. Together, they had one daughter, June Lee, in June 1962.
Later that same year, they returned to Dallas and went to live with Ruth Paine, a friend of Marina who was studying Russian, and welcomed the Oswald family into her house. She also helped Lee get his job at the Texas School Book Depository, the building from where John F. Kennedy was shot.
They had another daughter, Audrey Marina Rachel, born just a few weeks before the assassination of the President and Lee Harvey’s death.
Marina Oswald Porter’s Second Chance
Nowadays, Marina is living a quiet life under the radar. Even as a widow of a notorious figure, she maintains a level of normalcy and privacy.
Following her testimonials at the Warren Commission, she moved to a rental house in Richardson, Texas, and even tried to increase her education at the University of Michigan. Though she didn’t finish her studies, she moved back to Texas and made it her home.
That’s also when she met and got married to Kenneth Jess Porter, and they soon had a son.
Marina made the effort to face her previous experiences, find closure, and build her new life in America, which included gaining U.S citizenship in 1989.
Today, Marina calls Rockwall, Texas home. She lives privately with her husband, and even in her 70s, she remains strong and determined, taking care of her family, and becoming a respected member of her community.
It’s safe to say that Marina Oswald Porter’s life has been a journey of resilience and spirit.
As for Lee Harvey’s daughters, they have also kept a low profile. Their father’s infamous actions had a significant impact on their lives, and they’ve had to navigate the challenges the event produced.
As we unravel the intricate threads of Lee Harvey Oswald and Marina Oswald Porter’s lives, we traverse an intriguing path of history brought to life by personal narratives. To delve further into this theme of presidential assassinations, we recommend “Killing Lincoln” by Bill O’Reilly and Martin Dugard.
This compelling book sheds light onto another impactful event in American history – the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln.
Killing Lincoln
- 15 min reading time
- audio version available
- 15 min reading time
- audio version available
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Originally from the north of England, Robin is an experienced journalist, editor, and writer. He has an incredibly specific knowledge of Russian cinema and wrote two dissertations about the Chernobyl nuclear disaster before HBO made it cool. He has travelled across Ukraine and is currently practicing how to cook the perfect blini.
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