>>In October 1959, Oswald immigrated to the Soviet Union. He was nineteen, and the trip was planned well in advance. Along with having taught himself rudimentary Russian, he had saved $1,500 of his Marine Corps salary<<
The pay rate in 1959 for Marine Private was $76 a month - meaning that Oswald would have had to save ~ 25 months after-tax pay. Even if was an E-3, pay rate was $108/month.
That’s what they were paying me at the time.
I've always been puzzled by how easily Oswald got back into the USA after supposedly "defecting" to the USSR and renouncing his US Citizenship. That was during the hottest years of the cold war, i.e., post Cuban missile crisis, etc. I can't see the State Department just letting him waltz back into the country without being seriously questioned. Something about that just doesn't smell right.
Sorry, but there was no tax on military pay in 1959. So therefore no “after tax pay”. I saved almost 2000 dollars from 1959(June)until 1962(June)mostly making PFC(e3)pay with overseas pay at 124 bucks a month. $37.50 savings bond and some of them increased value by the time I got out. I could have saved almost all of it, because of course, room and food were free. I needed only a small amount per month to replace any clothing I might use up(socks and such and occasional fatigues). I did spend most of it carousing but some guys saved about 80 percent of their pay.