Visiting Marina

“Get out of my property,” hissed the 75-year-old Kenneth Porter with restrained anger. He was clearly not enamored of this unannounced visit from the Netherlands. The second husband of Marina Oswald Porter was assisted by a loud barking, medium-sized dog. “Get out of my property, didn’t you see the warning sign at the beginning of the driveway?” The hope for a little conversation was soon gone, let alone a picture and a short, unique interview with his wife Marina. “No, you do not have to call me later. Go away, now!”

by PERRY VERMEULEN

After a long search on the internet a few years ago, I found out her address: a detached house on a large piece of land near Rockwall, a suburb of Dallas, Texas. Obviously I had submitted written requests for interviews, but I unfortunately never got an answer. I was in the neighborhood on September 9, driving from Memphis to Dallas, and I thought: let’s give it a shot. But the message was clear. The 72-year-old Marina apparently was not lying when she wrote to an auction house in May 2013 that she wanted to let go of her past. She enclosed the wedding ring from her first marriage in the envelope – the only thing she had left of that part of her life.

The golden ring (it fetched $108,000) was slid to Marina’s finger on April 30, 1961. Just over two and a half years later husband Lee Harvey Oswald was arrested for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Off course it was a bit dissapointing, not getting the chance to meet Marina Oswald Porter. Not that I had high expectations of it, but it would have been great to meet her and ask her about her life and opinions on the assassination. Not many people have had that opportunity recently: articles with her are always at least twenty years old, with a few exceptions. After this missed opportunity we drove to Dallas – luckily there were enough interesting conversations ahead of us!