BruceSmith

Greetings everyone, I have a few items to share: 1. The search for Braden and family has turned into a utter slog. Nothing concrete to report. However, I did make a brief detour to check out a man named Braden who lives in Cooper County, but that has turned up zilch. 2. SOG vets. Here too, the low-hanging fruit has been picked. Still have a couple calls out there, but nothing directly impacting the Cooper case. 3. Nat Geo. I finally spoke with Phil Day, the producer who filmed the documentary. Here is the gist of our conversation: Interview with Phil Day, Producer of “The Skyjacker Who Got Away.” Edge West Productions September 4, 2009; phone Interview started cordially. However, when I pushed him about Nat Geo’s decision to cut the Barb Dayton material, he tapped into his own frustration with the project. He was very professional – he never revealed specifically whether his greatest ire was with the Nat Geo, the inscrutable nature of the Cooper story, or the NW weather. I suspect all three played a strong part. When I asked him to assist me in making direct contact with the producers at Nat Geo who made the decisions to both cut the Dayton material and add the propeller theory, he got uncomfortable. Nevertheless, to his credit Phil agreed to carry my letter of request for an interview directly to the Nat Geo. Here are the specifics of our chat: “I put forward a cut with Barb in it,” Phil said. He also said that he made three different drafts and had presented “several theories, including the Forman’s story.” From what Phil said, it sounded like the decision-making process with National Geo was difficult and laborious. He said that besides the multiple drafts, numerous phone calls and emails went back and forth. Phil claimed he had “zero say” in the final decision, and that he made three separate efforts to have the Dayton material included. Reading between the lines, it sounds like Phil fought hard for the Dayton angle, until finally he said: “I was told in no uncertain terms what editorial changes to make.” He described National Geographic’s decision to drop the Dayton angle based on three elements: 1. No direct evidence or corroboration. 2. The FBI does not support the theory. 3. It is a provocative angle, complex, and would require a lot of screen time to tell clearly. Phil seems fed-up with the Cooper story and Cooper craziness. At one point he called the Cooper story “ a yarn.” He later added that he does not think the truth will ever be known. Phil did not speak all that warmly about Larry Carr, or at length, either, which I find telling, since Larry’s the case officer. Phil merely described Larry as using the Cooper case as a means to ‘carve out a niche for himself.” I took that to mean: build a reputation and get some fame and glory. Phil also said that the FBI is not putting any resources into the Cooper case. Phil spoke most laudably about Tom Kaye, and praised Kaye’s “pro bono” work on the Cooper case. “He’s a damn good scientist,” he added. Later he called Kaye a “conscientious scientist trying to find answers to the story.” He also praised Tom’s dedication to the Cooper case, touting how he had been working on it for years and “certainly has had to deal with a lot of frustrations and inconsistencies.” When I challenged Phil on the propeller theory, asking how it had been presented to him since Tom Kaye is reportedly now repudiating it via Jerry, Phil said that they filmed Tom and his theories just as Kaye presented them. Phil said that Kaye had not presented the propeller theory with any qualifiers, nor did Tom say anything to indicate that he thought the theory to be highly speculative or problematic. Phil utterly dismissed Himmelsback, at one point saying that Ralph was “sporting nonsense.” I wanted to follow up on his derision of Ralph, but was unable due to time restraints At the end, when I pushed for access to Nat Geo, Phil mentioned that the Barb cut made it through the first round of three reviews by Nat Geo, but got tripped up in the second. Lastly, Phil washed his hands of all things Cooper. “I’m certainly not going to be banging on the Cooper story in the next five years, and I certainly won’t be traipsing up to the Pacific Northwest any time soon.”

Quade asked the same question clear back in Ap 2008 and never got an answer (below). Apparently nobody (here) knows. quade Moderator Apr 4, 2008, 10:27 AM Post #1085 of 12689 (2213 views) Re: [SafecrackingPLF] knife? [In reply to] Do you know of a seating plan diagram for the 727-100 available on-line anywhere? Why does it matter? Well, , , people have gone on at length about what Cooper could see or not see, blah blah blah, and turns out we dont even know what seat he was sitting in in relation to the rest of the airplane. Someone may know, but isnt saying: N467US was a 727-51 as distinct from a 727-100 or 727-200 which I think was a smaller craft with fewer seats than a 727-100.(I attach a nice chart for 727-200 seating which doesnt apply here). Sluggo (at his Research website) has no charts and seems to rely on Pasternak's account which cites: "94 seats - 66 coach and 28 first class" and 'sat at the back of the plane' in 18C. Ckret confirms 18C wherever that was on the plane. Boeing however cites the 727-51 as accomodating 134 seats? All accounts I have ever read say seat "18C". All accounts I have ever read place Cooper at the back of the plane close enough to the stew's seat at the back of the plane that Cooper was able to lean out and speak to Schafner, telling her to read the note he had given her (in an envelope). Every depiction I have ever seen shows Cooper and a stew sitting on the starboard (right side) of the back of the plane ... Cooper in the aisle seat ... and immediately after he got Schafner's attention advising her to read his note, Flo and Tina go forward to Scott, and Scott asks Flo to go back and sit 'with the passenger', and when Flo does go back to Cooper "he has moved over from the aisle seat to the window" (starboard window which would be west side window as 305 flew along V23 going south), as per the below: " The next time she (Schafner) passed he (Cooper) motioned for her to come closer and whispered to her, “You'd better read that. I have a bomb." He nodded toward the briefcase in his lap. Schaffner went to the galley, read the note and shared it with fellow attendant Tina Mucklow. They hurried to the cockpit where Capt. Scott had a look. At 3:13 PM the pilot radioed Sea-Tac Flight Operations with this message Capt. Scott sent Schaffner back to the hijacker. She sat in Cooper's aisle seat. He had moved to the window. Cooper opened his briefcase wide enough to give her a glimpse of its contents. (Sluggo from his website)." Ckret never did answer Quade's question or speak on this topic. Snowmman seemed to question my account repeated above ? He seems to have his own ideas ? Sluggo may have something he has never chimed in with ? Russ Calame in his book describes Cooper's seating arrangments similarly, namely starboard side of the airplane. He talks quite a bit about it, and drew a diagram to compare how McCoy also sat in the same relative place, although he had a different seat number due to a different configuration in that 727, and had the re-fueling truck park in the same position as the one for Cooper. Calame says the seat postion for both crimes was ideal for monitoring the refueling, the placement of the air stairs, and the coming and going of folks. The seat Cooper chose, and McCoy, is one more piece of evidence of a well-planned operation.

Quote Hi Orange, JD Bath told me two things. 1. When they were together in Vietnam, Ted seemed like a guy who had at least a year or two of college. JD said this in response to some comments I made about Ted reading books in base camp, and having a self-written piece in Ramparts that seemed to well-written for a guy who only had two years of high school before he enterd the service in 1944. 2. JD said that Ted worked on his education at Langley before coming over to Vietnam. (When I hear Langley, I immediately assume CIA, as that is where HQ is.)

JD said that Ted served in WWII and lied about his age. JD said that Ted was out of the military from Korea until he went to "Nam, so from about '52 to '62, '63, which will leave him a little shy of 14 years by '67 when he disappears. To recap: Enters military in 1944. Leaves Korea 52-ish. That's eight years. Then returns in '62, spends a year or two in training, maybe, and over to "Nam in '64. By '67 Ted had maybe 5 years in, plus the 8 before, to make perhaps 13 years, total, and that's stretching it. Lots o' t'ings not adding up exactly. How can a couple of super-troopers in Ft. Bragg not know about one of their golden boys jumping in European competitions and getting written up in Stars and Stripes? And how come Ted didn't talk it up when he was in 'Nam? Could Ted have already been working for the CIA in the 50s when he got "booted" out of the Army? Maybe he was on-station in Germany, or eastern Europe, etc, and did a little cover-action with the Golden Arrows, but wasn't really a part of the usual goings on in the 101st community and Ft Bragg? When I questioned JD about the Germany thing, he strongly held to his beliefs about Ted getting kicked out in Korea and being called back in as an enlisted man just for Vietnam. Boy, I wish we could find members of his family to talk with. I struck out all day in Florida and PA.

Remember when I said I cancelled my newspaper subscription and how newspaper guys don't work the contacts like they used to, to get all of the story. Well I take that back. Bruce is working the rolodex, running up the phone bill..I"m picturing a beatup keyboard, cigarette butts in the ashtray, a scotch, neat, sitting next to the monitor. A broken desklamp that won't stay pointing right, always needing adjustment.....And he gets us a story. Every day. We just need the cranky editor yelling at him "Bruce, give it up, there's nothing there...now get out to the Little League field and get the scores"...and Bruce shuffles off...but in the parking lot of the baseball field, he finds a mom, who knows someone at the VFW, who knows someone who was 1-2 on RT Iowa. And Bruce's eyes narrow a bit, and he whispers "You got a phone number for me?".... and she says "...oh, well you know I'm married"... "No, No, the 1-2! What's his number!" Quote Heh, heh...best laugh of the day, Snow. You got some of it right on, too. No ashtray, though, had to give up the stogies about five years ago because the complaints from the lung department were getting too loud. Whiskey neat, well it used to be a bottle of Cabernet, then I went to Tequila, and then to nothing all because of the budget. As for those married women, yeah, there sure seems to be a lot of them....so many phone numbers, so little time. My lamp is guy-wired to some screws I put into the wall to angle it straight...and my keyboard is a little tiny and cramped, but the bigger problem is that my monitor won't stay on when I first boot up. I gotta turn it on and off about a million times.... You forgot one thing, though, I can't find a razor that has any blade left, and my face looks it. But I'm having a blast, and I feel well-appreciated by y'all - Thanks to Everyone. -Cuz

Greetings Y'all, I just had a wonderful one-hour-plus phone conversation with SOG trooper JD Bath, codenamed “Tub” back in the old days of running recon when he ran with Ted Braden. JD served two tours of duty in Vietnam: May ’66 to April ’67, and then April ‘71- April ‘72. JD served with Ted Braden on JD’s first tour in 1966, on RT Colorado. JD was the 1-2 – the radio guy. The Navy Seal, Gary Shadduck was the third team member at this time. Jim Hetrick would later join the team as 1-1 when Shadduck left to go back to Seal World at China Beach. JD discounted Hetrick's view that Shadduck was a spy for SOG HQ to ferret out info on Braden. JD viewed it as a routine assignment of a Navy Seal into SOG-Army duty. JD’s view of Ted Braden differs sharply from what Hetrick told me, and also corroborates some very important information from Bill Kendall Here’s what JD told me: “Ted could have done it – the Cooper thing. He was certainly capable of doing it. He knew how to carry a gun and how to use it….He planned things out, he was very thorough, and very calm. Ted Braden was a cool-headed team leader, and he had a flair for the unorthodox. He was not afraid to do things….He always knew what he was doing, and always got us out safely.” JD confirmed what Hetrick said about Ted’s solo trips to Saigon to debrief. However, JD said that was not uncommon as “somebody had to stay behind with the ’little people’ – a common SOG term for the Yards and South Vietnamese soldiers and support staff, and used by JD throughout our conversation. The tone of his voice was not racist, but more familiar-like, comparable to calling me a Yankee, or a New Yorker. Not fully-friendly and respectful, but certainly familiar and with tones of warmth. JD also confirms Ted’s strong involvement with the CIA. “Ted told us once, ‘If you see me in Saigon and I’m wearing civilian clothes and I’m with a bunch of guys who are also wearing civilian clothes – you don’t know me, and I don’t know you.’” Ted also received specialized equipment from the CIA, including a fancy camera that had infrared capabilities, and also voice-activate listening devices to place along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. JD paints a different picture of Ted’s personality than we’ve heard before. “I never saw him drunk. He never got wasted in camp. When things got slow and we were standing down, Ted was totally laid back. But when it was time to go to work, he was all business. Ted knew a lot of people down in Saigon, so maybe he drank there, but never back in camp at Kontum.” JD also said that Ted liked to smoke a pipe, and would just go off by himself, have a smoke, and read a book. “He was a loner. He would just go off by himself.” JD also described Ted as an educated man with “at least a year or two of college,” and said Ted was well-spoken and articulate. “He was a suave-y kind of guy.” JD was also very impressed at Ted’s ability and commitment to stay in shape, and mentioned the morning sit-ups that Hardy did. “Ted really stayed in shape to keep up with the younger men. Heck- he was in his late thirties.” JD added that in battle Ted knew what he was doing. “He never panicked or got wild-eyed. Ted was one of the best team leaders that I served with in Vietnam, and I learned a lot from Ted.” JD described Ted as sharp-eyed, perceptive, and able to keep his cool under pressure. Ted’s confidence, skill and calm demeanor was a profound asset to RT Colorado. “Ted was good for the team, especially with the Yards. We had a cohesive team.” JD said the Yards were good in the boonies, but they would run if they thought the team leader was getting twitchy, scared, or couldn’t think fast on his feet. JD also said that Jim Hetrick at first liked Ted, and learned a lot from him as well. However, over time, Hetrick and Braden had a falling-out that started over how Ted paid his “little people” on the team. JD said that Hetrick was more by the book, and Ted did things his own ways, including the heavy usage of brides and financial pay-offs to get things done. JD also gave a unique perspective on Ted Braden’s history, saying that Ted received his Lieutenant’s commission in the Korean War, but lost it and was mustered out of the Army after Ted physically beat up a sergeant “who was not moving the men forward.” JD said, “Ted was brought back in as an enlisted man for the Vietnam War, and worked his way up to E-7 by ‘66.” JD also said something similar to what Kendall said about Ted’s reported competitive skydiving for the Army in Germany in the early 1960s. “I never heard any of that,” JD announced. When I mentioned Golden Arrows to JD, it sounded like it was an unfamiliar term to him, as well. The Hue Incident JD had a lot to say about the incident at Hue where Ted flipped out and pointed a gun at JD and called him a coward. JD said that RT Colorado had been assigned to a special job out of Phu Bai. They left Kontum in time to have a little extra time in Phu Bai to see the sights in near-by Hue, and they headed up there by truck. On the highway, they were ambushed. The driver, an American, drove the truck into a ditch, and Braden, Shadduck and JD ran successfully behind a railroad embankment and tracks. Apparently there were some Vietnamese soldiers with them and the Americans got weapons from them. Braden had his pistol with him. Hearing the fire-fight, some “puff patrol” came up through a rice paddy. They were local police or militia, but Braden mistook them for VC and killed one. In the course of the fire-fight they moved into a nearby village. In one particular hooch an elderly Vietnamese woman was sitting “Buddha-style,” with her hands folded underneath a shawl. Ted ordered JD to kill her, and he refused. Ted ordered him again to kill her. JD put he muzzle of his gun to the woman’s head and she uncovered her hands from the shawl. She had “Buddha beads,” and not the grenade that Braden had feared. Then Braden ordered JD to move the woman to see if she was sitting over a trap door, hideaway. She moved, and it was just a dirt floor. Then a Marine company moved up and finished the fire-fight. At the end, the American truck driver wanted to return to Phu Bai, and JD and Shadduck concurred and sat on the tail gate of the truck, ready to go. Ted said he wanted them to join him and continue their trip to Hue, but they refused. Ted pointed his rifle at them and ordered them not to move. He called them yellow-bellied------etc. cowards, and told them he didn’t want them on his team; and ultimately declared they were off his team. Then, a Vietnamese city bus drove by and Ted commandeered it, putting his pistol to the driver’s head, and he drove off to Hue. Ted, apparently, came back latter that night to Phu Bai, because the next morning at breakfast he sat down calmly with JD and Shadduck and announced –“Well, do you guys have all your gear ready to go?” Shadduck and JD said, “No, we’re off the team,” and JD added that he wouldn’t ever go out on a recon with anyone who had ever called him a coward. “Who told you that?” replied Ted. JD said that Ted seemed to have zero remembrance of what he had said the day before. JD and Shadduck went on the recon several days later because the CO at Phu Bai said he really needed the intel that they were going after. JD also said that he had seen Braden “go schizophrenic” several times, and described several instances of Ted being off-base after curfew and once driving a truck through an ARVN check-point and another where American MPs brought him back to Kontum in handcuffs, and had a follow-up altercation with the Master Sergeant that ended with Ted threatening to kill the soldier. “But Ted didn’t really mean it” said JD. “He was just messing with his head.” JD described the sergeant as someone who had little respect from the SOG troopers and was pulling an ego trip by messing with Braden. “Ted suffered from combat fatigue, PTSD or whatever you want to call it” said JD. He was in combat too long.” JD has a lot of fondness for Ted. “Ted was one of the old hands, and you never heard any of the old hands talk down about Ted Braden. Most of them were in Korea, so they understood Ted. They’d tell me to tell Hetrick to tone it down about Ted.” Also: “Ted had a girl friend in Vietnam, in Na Trang,” said JD. “But the woman had a husband who was an ARVN soldier. Ted told us one night, ‘That guy’s getting to be a real pain in the ass. Why don’t you guys take him out?’ he said to me and Shadduck. We said we would, and asked him where the girl friend lived, and where the husband was, and all that, but we wouldn’t have done it. We were just talking big – trying to be big shots like Ted.” Braden’s Disappearance I asked JD what it was like when Ted disappeared. “Well, Ted had gone down to Saigon for a debriefing, just like usual. When you’d go down there, they would keep you for a few days, maybe four or five days. So when he wasn’t back for a while we didn’t think too much of it. But after seven days or so, people began asking, “Where’s Ted,’ and we didn’t know. “Eventually, we got another replacement, a Lt. George Sisler became our team leaders, and we just resumed our recons.” Is Ted Braden DB Cooper? I asked JD, knowing Braden as well as he did, why would Ted do the Cooper skyjacking? “Early retirement, I guess.” When I told JD about the Theodore Braden the DZ team had discovered in Pittsburgh and that neighbors had described him as a long-distance truck driver, JD was quite dismissive. “I can’t see Ted sitting behind a wheel, driving a truck for somebody, half out of his mind. Unless he had medical problems or other issues and it was the only thing he could do.” JD declared that Ted had too many skills not to be in demand as a mercenary or a covert operative. “Ted had a lot of contacts. He could be working for the mafia or somebody. There are lots of people Ted could be working for. A lot of guys went to work for those people.” I asked JD how tall Ted was. “He was about as tall as me, and I’m 5-8.” When I told JD about the reports of Cooper being six-foot, and having deep, dark, penetrating brown eyes, JD replied: Ted could’ve used contacts and elevated shoes. That’s the kind of thing Ted would do – he would anticipate things, figure things out, have a plan. He would have thought it all out.” ************************************ Welcome back, Sluggo. Glad you're around, again.

you're good at keeping track of what are interesting questions, but the new name "Gary Shadduck"...you should ask Bath if he remembers Shadduck and if he has a contact. I've not seen Shadduck's name before. There is a misspelling of his name on the web here, but good info on Shadduck. Apparently he was a SEAL? "One of those was Gary Shaauck, who ran missions as the 1-2 on Recon Team RT-Colorado between Sept -Nov of 1966" He was one of only 6 US Navy Seals EVER to run cross border missions in the history of SOG. (according to the poster) (edit) Shadduck is mentioned in a bunch of SEAL books. see references here in "SEAL!: from Vietnam's PHOENIX program to Central America's drug wars" [Quote I wonder if Shadduck was the Seal that Hetrick talked about that ran with him and Braden and later turned out to be a spy for SOG HQ checking up on Braden.

Galen Cook emailed me today to confirm that he has sent a pix of Braden to Florence Schaffner, and also to say that she hasn't responded, which he thought was a little odd since she has been a quick responder to his inquiries in the past. He also indicated that he didn't want to rush or pressure her, and I agree.

I have JD Bath's contact information and will talking with him tomorrow. Stay tuned.

Righto- Snow, on RT Colorado '66 being Braden, Hetrick and JD Bath. See below. Braden Update: I just got off the phone with Jason Hardy, a collector and historian who has written a book about the SOG troopers, titled “SOG Team Insignias and History.” Bill Kendall called him and suggested he talk with me. We had a fine chat. Here’s what Hardy told me. “There’s no doubt in my mind that Ted Braden is, or was, DB Cooper.” Hardy bases this on two things: One, a comparison of the sketches and the Ramparts pix. I did not discuss Flo’s views on the eye color. BTW: I still haven’t heard from Galen about Flo’s response to the picture. I was going to call Galen today, but these SOG guys keep calling…… Two: Hardy has a deep understanding of Braden’s personality, behavior and performance in Vietnam, which he has gotten through talking with a lot of SOG vets. Hardy was not in Vietnam - he a was a kid – and has not been a SF, as far as I know. Plus, Hardy has discussed Braden extensively with these vets. Hardy gave me a lot of contacts to call, particularly JD Bath, who served with Braden and Hetrick in 1966 on RT Colorado, Braden’s last team, apparently, before he went missing in Vietnam. Here’s what Hardy told me about Braden. Braden had a split personality. He could “go off” in a split second. He went off on JD Bath during a recon, where apparently Hetrick was not there. Braden and Bath’s team was ambushed near a village and Braden, the 1-0, led them into the village and ultimately Braden killed someone in the village who was an ARVN soldier. (I don’t know if this was the RAF that got Braden arrested for murder). After the firefight, Bath suggested they head back to Kontum. They apparently had a truck and had driven up Highway 101 to this village. Apparently the truck was shot up so they could not return. Braden confronted Bath and called him a coward and that they wouldn’t be heading to Kontum, but instead Pleiku. Braden drew a gun and pointed it at Bath, challenging him. Bath backed down. Braden then stopped a South Vietnamese bus and hijacked the bus, threatening the driver, who fled. When the team got back to Kontum, Bath told his CO he wanted off the team. The CO challenged Braden, who reportedly did not remember the incident. Remember – this is all told to me through Hardy who got it from Bath. I’ll be checking it out with JD shortly. Also from Hardy: Braden liked cognac. (Don't know about Bourbon). Braden would do 100 sit-ups before breakfast every morning. He was fastidious and always dressed sharp. He usually wore a sweater even though is was “as hot as hell.” Hardy reported that the rumor of Braden-is-Cooper was widespread. Even more common was the assumption that Cooper was a SOG trooper. That opinion was ubiquitous. “It was a long-standing joke!” Also, Hardy told me that there is a SOG trooper listed in the SOG directory by the name of DB Cooper! WOW. I’ll be checking this out with Steve Sherman, the author of the directory. Hardy said that Braden was something of a legend in Vietnam, and that his relationship with CIA was a topic of conversation. “No one knew how long Braden had been in “Nam,” said Hardy. Early SOG was so mixed up with the CIA, he added. Hardy says: “I respect the man. He was a loose cannon, but he always got his men out.” Hardy said that he had been investigating Braden and had tracked him to San Francisco at one point. He didn’t say when, even though I asked. Hardy also said that a private investigator was also looking for Braden at the same time and had in fact contacted Hardy, looking for information on Braden.

SOG news: I spoke with Bill Kendall this afternoon. Very nice guy, and he told me some fascinating things. First off, he didn’t know Braden, which surprises me, and he never heard the Braden-is-Cooper rumor. However, Bill told me that he serviced with Bill Horner from 1957 until 1965 when Horner was killed “by a 60 going off prematurely.” I had asked Kendall about Horner because there has been speculation that Braden had used Horner’s ID and passport when he left Vietnam in ’67. Kendall has no knowledge of any of that. Kendall also looked-up the name of Joseph Homer, who has also been reported to be the guy whom Braden impersonated. Kendall said that Homer is not listed in the SOG directory written by Steve Sherman, which Bill graciously consulted quite a bit when we talked. Kendal said he was “one of the original 6 to be assigned to MACV SOG in 64” when SF were taking over from the CIA. Kendall also said that Airborne troops had been “skydiving since ’59, 60” and he had gotten his Airborne certification for this type of combat in ’63. (He also worked on his education at Langley in ’63, but did not disclose what the subjects were). SOG was all one unit at that time, and only went to CCS, CCC, and CCN in 1965. In 65-65 Kendal ran recon out of Long Thanh, but was familiar with Villa 10, which he said was located just outside of Saigon. Bill characterized it as a ”safe house” where indigs were de-briefed. Other things happened there, but Kendall said that he can’t tell me everything because a lot of stuff is still classified. “I could tell you stories, but I won’t!” he said with a chuckle. “I signed four pieces of paper that said that I won’t divulge secret information, and I won’t.” When I mentioned Leaping Lena and Braden’s role, Kendall seemed a little hazy about the operation. Not avoiding it, per se, but he gave me the feeling he wasn’t associated with it and so had little recall of it historically. At one point he said in reference to Braden, “I surprised I haven’t heard of the guy.” I’m not sure of what recon team Kendall ran with in 64-65. However, he ran with RT Colorado in 68-69, which was Braden’s old unit, but Braden was gone by then. Kendall was 1-0 with RT Colorado in 68-69 and ran with a 1-2 who lives about 15 miles away from me, and whom I will contact shortly. Kendall also ran with RT Illinois and RT Hawaii during this time. In the interim period, ‘65-’68, (not sure on dates – Kendall said about a year and a half), Kendall worked with Bob Howard at CCC in Kontum. Howard is the most decorated soldier in the history of American warfare. Nominated for three Medals of Honor, and awarded one. He also received two Distinguished Service Crosses, I believe, and the list goes on. Howard also has 11 Purple Hearts – three more than Billy and I thought no one could top that. Kendall also served with John Plaster during the ‘68-‘69 period. Kendall said he didn’t know about Braden’s competitive jumping in Germany during the early ‘60s, which again is surprising since Kendall was jumping at Fort Bragg. “We didn’t pay much attention to what was happening in Germany,” he said. Kendall also said that he HALO jumped with Horner at Ft. Bragg. He said that Horner took over his job when Horner arrived in “Nam, and then Kendall took the job back when Horner was killed. “He wasn’t even in-country for 30 days when he was killed.” Kendall said that SOG HQ was on Pasture St in Saigon. Kendall was in the military from 1954 until 1974. “When I retired, I just walked away from all of that stuff. I had to.” .

Recap on Ted Braden, August 18, 2009 Today, I interviewed Jim Hetrick, leader of the national SOG organization, about Ted Braden. He had some very strong opinions about Ted “I don’t like the man,” Jim Hetrick said. “I have no use for the man, no respect for the man, and he came close to getting us whacked by doing a lot of dumb-assed stuff.” Jim said that Braden was his team leader in RT Colorado, long after the time of Don Duncan, who Jim Hetrick doesn’t care for, either. “He’s (Duncan) not welcomed around here, or with the SOG guys – he’s a real b**l s**t artist.” As for Braden, Jim said Ted was just out for himself, and was dangerous to run an operation with. Braden took numerous unnecessary risks. “He was a piss-poor leader,” Hetrick said. “We did a lot of trail-walking,” which I take to mean roaming in the jungle and risking exposure instead of sitting put in a observatory position, concealed and safe. “I disliked the man tremendously,” Hetrick said one more time. Hetrick also said that Braden worked a lot of angles. “You can make up any story about Ted Braden and they could be true.” Hetrick said that when Braden went missing in Vietnam, the SOG vets all thought that he had “gone over” to the North Vietnamese. Hetrick also said that when RT Colorado came back from a mission that, unlike all the other recon teams that would de-brief at Saigon HQ together, Braden would go to Saigon alone for the de-briefing. “He’d fly back in a CIA airplane and it would waggle its wings to let us know that Braden was back and that we’d have to go down and pick him up.” Hetrick said that Braden liked to “hang with the embassy-types,” and that he often wore a short-sleeved white shirt and tie, and would “hang in the CIA bar in Saigon” (the Caravelle?). “He could have been building deep-cover – who knows?” said Hetrick. Like I said, you can make up any story about Ted Braden and it might just be true.” After Ted disappeared, Hetrick said that another SOG vet saw Braden sitting four rows ahead on a train in Thailand. He said Braden turned at one point and looked the guy straight in the eye, but never acknowledged him or gave any response or recognition. “Maybe Braden was running drugs,” Hetrick said. Hetrick said that just prior to Braden’s going missing in Vietnam (Hetrick never once said ‘AWOL’ or ‘disserted’) Braden was charged with the murder of an “RFP in Hue and was placed under house arrest.” He subsequently was transferred out of SOG into Project Omega, which was then absorbed back into SOG under an Op-35 arrangement, or something akin to that. Just prior to all of that, Hetrick said that SOG CO General Bull Simmons began to suspect Braden was falsifying his singular after-action reports, so he assigned a Navy Seal to “run with us” in RT Colorado. “I later learned the Seal was an Intel guy and was sent to check on Braden,” Hetrick said. Hetrick said that the Seal refuted Braden’s accounts and that Braden was discredited. Then Braden was sent to Project Omega. Hetrick said that Braden was rumored to have passed a lot of bad checks before he left. Also, Hetrick knew that Braden had a wife, who lived in Florida, and he went to see her after he left Vietnam and they had a kind of spree. Braden resigned his officer’s commission, Hetrick said, over a fuss over blousing dress blues with jump boots, or something like that. Braden was highly provocative and argumentative - even violent. Once he spit in the face of the company commander, and the two had to be physically separated. “He was bad news when he was drinking,’ said Hetrick. “I know – I used to be a drinker myself, but Braden was different. He’d get squirrelly. He was a wild man when he was drinking.” Further, “He was a crazy man,” said Hetrick. One of my friends was surprised to see me still alive after he had been away from camp for awhile – he was so sure Braden was going to get me killed.” Lastly, “I don’ think Ted Braden was DB Cooper. He didn’t look at all like the sketches I saw of DB Cooper.”

I agree with you Georger. The key is to stay focused on what Cooper did and how he did it. Asking other jumpers, airbornes soldiers, etc. if they would do the jump is really a distraction - it leads the mind and the investigation away from the cetntral clue: who Cooper was. To whit: Can we tell, based upon Cooper's actions, did Danny think he was prepared to jump successfully? I say yes: He was calm, generally, all throughout the 2.5 hours cicling Sea-Tac, plus the hours on the ground and then in the air. Albeit, he got cranky with the re-fueling provocations and delays, and he got child-like when he saw the money, but all indications are that Danny was satisfied with his plan, the parachutes provided, the weather, the DZ, and all the rest. Eight Raleigh's and a boubon and 7-Up seems reasonable for a guy doing a long-haul, multi-hour crime. Cooper was on center stage for what, five hours? That's a long time to be on the hot-seat. He never broke a sweat. To me, that is incredibly important. So, what kind of person can do that? Psychotics? Nope; they'd never be able to keep their act together for five hours. Maybe five minutes, but that's all. Folks who know it's an inside job and their safety is guaranteed? Yeah, but that takes us into some nebulous areas. Let's save this option until I have more on MKULTRA and the de-sensitization of SOG vets and Special Forces. The stoic calm of those who are well-trained, smart, prepared, and who have extreme confidnece in their abilities? Yup. I go for the later. Danny displayed all the qualities of a seasoned SOG vet. Rain, forest canopies, HALO conditions, cold, dark, enemies all around, no friendlies anywhere - sure sounds like another day at the office for a SOG trooper. Billy Waugh agrees with that assessment, and I put great weight on Billy's persepctives. I protested the ying-yang out of the Vietnam War, but Billy's seven tours of duty and eight purple hearts give him tremendous credibility in this area. Now, there is one more cateogry of potential mind-set that we can add, namely, some one who has a degree of training and expertise but has also had their personality fractured so that they are de-sensitized to certain dangers. They can still function at a high degree in most circumstances, and since their anxieties have been corralled a bit they might be able to do some remarkable things for a short period of time. Someone like Barb characterizes this group. McCoy has some of these qualities, too. He did okay on the jump, but was lousy on his end game. To compare Danny to "regular" folks and conclude that Danny was inept, stupid, and possessed a death-wish, etc. is a central, fundamental persepctive that shapes all of one's subsequent investigation. How an investigator views Cooper determines everything else. Further, the FBI's turn-around, where once they thought Danny was a SOG vet or Pierce County skydiver clearly shows that they considered his crime to be a remarkbale acheivement - smart, clever, original, well-planned and well-executed. For my money, the fact that they have now done a 180 says more about their need to put a new spin on the case than it does about any new insights they have garnered into Cooper's state of mind, training and capacities. It's like a shell game. "See everyone - no one else would have done the jump in loafers, Cooper was a stupid nut case." Move the rationales fast enough and one might miss other possibilites, and the truth. Heck, for all we know Danny was a paraplegic with titanium legs and feet. Silly? Wild? Yeah, but.........what if? And there are a dozen more possibilites that come to my mind, but we'll save further discussion of those scenarios for another evening's post. In the meantime, let's dig a little deeper into the details of what Cooper said, did, express, etc. He has all the clues we need. Not many, granted, but we can find the kernels of truth that we need. We can do this. I am convinced.

Yes, I intend to call Bill again. I called a couple days ago, and was only able to leave a message.

Rex said he was 75. As for Ted's manicured fingers, yes, that caught my attention, too. So, it's hard to imagine the Ted Braden we've come to know driving a truck for very long once he was released from the Ft Dix jail. Also, it's hard for me to imagine that the CIA didn't find a place for him somewhere. I'm not bailing on Ted until I hear defintively from Florence Schaffner that he ain't the guy. Plus, I'm intrigued. What was Ted Braden really like? I'm hoping for contact with P in Florida. So far, no new leads from PA.

I just finished speaking with Rex Jaco. Very nice guy - a gentleman. He confirmed that he was interviewd by the FBI in the Cooper case back in the early 70s. Not sure when exactly. He was stationed at Ft. Bragg, having come back from "Nam in 1970 sometime. He said he was selected by the feds because of his age and physical characteristics, and being "airborne qualified." "I guess they put all the airborne guys in a computer and my name was one of those that got spit out." Rex said the feds asked him general questions, such as where we was on the night, etc. The feds also asked him about another guy "from 187" but Rex couldn't remember the vet's name. Rex served with Billy Waugh, and spoke with a deep, special feeling about Billy and the SOG days. "SOG was like no other unit in the Army. That last year was pretty exciting." Rex was eligible for HALO traiing, but decided he wanted to "take a rest," again reiterating that his last year in Vietnam was "pretty exciting." Rex didn't know Ted, and never heard the rumor that Ted was Danny. Rex's wife is a sweetie-pie, too. She called me honey! Awwww- shucks, ma'am..........................

Greetings Y'all I've had a few conversations with Galen Cook about Ted, eye color, and Florence Schaffner. Galen says that Florence sat next to Danny for extensive periods of time whle they circled Sea-Tac, and that it wasn't just Tina. Galen says Florence really studied Cooper's eyes, and she adamantly states that they were a deep, dark, penetrating brown. I've asked Galen to get a pix of Braden to Florence and let her decide. But right now, it ain't looking good for Teddy Bear. Those baby blues, greens or hazels or whatever, ain't cuttin' it in the Cooper contest. Relatedly, Galen is putting the pedal to the metal in his Cooper investigations, and has spent a ton o'money and time at the Columbia and other spots. He has hried a cracker-jack team of scientists to study the sands, soils, water, etc - all the stuff Kaye and Ckret say they're doing - and more. While Galen won't share any of his findings until he makes a ton o' money on his book deal and speaking tour, I have every confidence that we will receive this vital pool of information eventually.

I'm lovin' this. Keep it coming.

Fantastic, Snow - what a goldmine. Seeing the pix gave me a chill, and a thrill, too. Whew. The thought: "Am I looking at a picture of DB Cooper?" ran through my head. So very cool. Thank you!

I've just received an email from Billy Waugh confirming that the Ted Braden we've been looking into "fits to a T" the Ted Braden he knew in Vietnam. Our Ted's profile that I shared with Billy: 1. Born in 1928 2. Joined Army in '44, lied about age. 3. Ace skydiver in '60s. Competitive skydiving for the Army in Germany in early '60s 4. Had a wife in Germany 5. Second marriage to P. in 1970s 6. Lived in Pittsburgh area in 70s 7. No known children 8. Long-Haul trucker 9. Reportedly left "Nam in late '60s to become a mercinary in the Congolese civil war. Money, $1,600/month- double his $800/m Army pay in Vietnam - was key motivator. Reportedly nabbed by CIA for "Nam disertion and returned to the States. 10. "disciplinary" kind of guy. 11. Reportedly abused his wife, P. 12. Reportedly had problems with alcohol 13. Died in 2007, last address was Stroudsburg, PA area. Billy was appreciative to get this information, and said he would send on the news of Ted's passing to his ol' Army mates.

When you talk to Rat ask him what he meant by: 'could se the suburbs of Portland coming up'. Where was he? Does he know what his location for that statement was? Will do.

What about Rex Jaco? Is Bruce "the guy who gives good phone" going to find out what the FBI asked Jaco when they "interrogated" him? When and where? What's it like to get FBI interrogation? Do they give you candy? You must be psychic Snow, I was just going to send you a PM about Rex. He's next on my list to call, right after Hetrick and assorted calls to Stroudsburg and White Haven, and oh- yeah, Rataczak to ask about the $400K Your questions about the FBi's investigatio are excatly the kind I plan on asking.

Quote Good to see you have a sense of humor, Jo. Your post put a smile on my face.

What's so strange about Thun Field? It's just my little teeny-weeny airport down the road from home. Oh, well, and it was the home field for Barb, too! What -you guys don't have pilots with gender-re-assignment surgery down your way in Alabama? Youse guys is slackin'. As for Shady Acres, it is now the home port of the North American Eagle, the jet car getting ready to break the land-speed record of 763 mph, using a J-79 engine out of an ol' Starfighter. As far as I know, there have been no crop circles reported lately at either air strip. But they might be keeping that hush-hush. Or, it might be due to the lack of rain. We're in a little drought at the moment. So, what have you heard about my home ports?

No. Marianne was quite clear and adamant about the $400,000. She said the negotiations were lengthy, and it sounds as if they had a level of contentiousness to them, although Marianne said that the plane voice and Tower voice were always very calm, never lost their cool and always sounded professional.