Lee Harvey Oswald was just twenty-four years old when he assassinated President Kennedy. He was troubled young with man with a disturbing background. There was never the opportunity to examine Oswald's mental state after the assassination, as Oswald, himself, was assassinated just two days later after his arrest as he was being led from police headquarters to jail.
The Warren Commission conducted numerous interviews with people that Oswald was acquainted with during his life. They found that Oswald grew up as a misfit who never fit in. Oswald's father died when his mother was pregnant with him, and she provided no moral guidance for him growing up. He was always truant from school and was very difficult for his mother to control, often displaying acts of violent behavior. His truancy and behavior led him to undergo testing at a youth detention facility where it was determined that Oswald was socially withdrawn and maladjusted. He dropped out of high school in tenth grade to study Communism and became a self-declared Communist. In spite of his political beliefs, he joined the Marines and even qualified as a "sharpshooter" during basic training. Oswald become obsessed with Russia and Communism and studied everything he could about. He considered Communism the best system in the world and in 1959 he got an early discharge from the Marines and defected to Russia. .
In Russia, Oswald found work in a factory, married a Russian girl named Marina Prusakova, and became a father. He enjoyed life in Russia for a little while, but soon became bored with it. In the fall of 1962 he returned to the United States with his family.
Back in the United States, Oswald became even more unhappy, and his return did nothing to change his hatred toward America. His anger increased and he became abusive toward his wife. After getting fired from several jobs, he threw himself even more deeply into Communism.
