Earl sent me an email which outlines the major aspects of why he thinks his uncle may be DB Cooper. Here it is:
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Wes was a Sergeant First Class. He was born in September of 1928. I have a plaque that shows enlistment in 10/47 and it has 8th Army Division, 8085 O.M. CO. Cpl on his plaque. He died in Seattle in July of 1984. I am not see any information on his height. I am 5'11 and he may have been around my height, I really do not recall. I am sure there is some documentation somewhere.
He was raised in Montebello CA and was in a Masonic Home. Family were Masons. Some of the info I have is from documents, some from discussions with him, and some from discussions with my mom, (his big sister). They were close as he was a little guy in an orphanage basically. He would sneak to visit my mom when he could. He had two older brothers.
When he as on leave he would visit us in CA. My mom said he left and lied about his age to get into the Merchant Marines when he was 14. He was in WW2, Korea, and three tours in Vietnam. He is in the San Francisco National Cemetery, (C-26). It has his special forces and three wars on his bronze plaque. He is right up front and has a great view!
When he retired, he was disappointed that the war was winding down and he was leaving the military according my mom. He visited us at that time. He, like may other Veterans of that era, was not treated with the honor or respect that should have been afforded him. He was thin and lean. He did have a beady eyed stare. He was quit and looked like he meant business when he looked at you.
When he left that last time, we dropped him at the Travis Air Force Base. It was dark and raining. He could fly on the military transports free apparently. I asked where he was going. He said he was headed North to do a job. Thinking there may be opportunity for me, I asked if I could go along. He told me he could not take me along on this one. That was the last time I saw him.
Shorty after his leaving, I saw the composite in the Chronicle Newspaper. Now, I drew faces and things in the past. Always pencil sketches. I showed my mom the composite and she complimented me on the sketch of Wes. When I told her it was a composite, and what it was for, she was visibly upset and left. She never would tell me where Wes was and I asked many times over the years. Until, he died. She was heading up to Seattle to pick up his possessions and make arrangements.
I have watched and read over the years to see what matched and what did not. My little brother and I worked in a Liquor Store in Fremont, (San Francisco Bay Area). Wes would always ask what are you Door boys up to today. We would bug him to get his coupons from his Raleigh Cigarettes. We would bundle them with others we collected to redeem them.
I know this is not a concise timeline and I know I need to chase down a DD214 to verify his training. If the FBI has DNA, then it should be an easy match. Wes has a son my age and his son was an infant in the photos I have. So, 1954 or 1955 would be the year. He married a Korean woman, Lela, a war bride. I have never met any of his kids or his wife.
From my mom and some of the stuff I have, he was Green Beret. My mom mentioned he was angry about being accused of dropping some supplies in the wrong place in Vietnam. He said he was spot on with the coordinates and timing given to him. I think this happened just before he retired out.
I did have a discussion with him about the forward scouts he chose. He said he liked young black kids from and urban environment as it was a dangerous job. I told him I thought it was a little racist. He fired back, with emphasis, "No, it is the best man for the job." He explained that he would lose kids quickly in that position, but the kids from urban areas grew up looking, watching, and paying attention in their neighborhoods as part of their survival and it translated to what they were doing in the bush. He said one of these was his scout for a full 11 months. I did not know a tour was 11 months back then.
I will dust off what I have and post a pic or two.
I looked up the agent in charge of the matter a few years back and sent him a email. They may bounce gmail, who knows? But, Larry never contacted me. Since he was using social media to ask for info, I thought he may search social media too, so I posted to my old blog. Bruce was the first contact from that post. I have worked with law enforcement,(local, state, and federal), over the years and this has popped up as a topic, nobody really seemed interested. I was a Supervising Criminal Investigator when I retired.
I know how popular hijackers are now, and I don't relish the though of him being one. But, as you know, he did not hurt anyone, and allowed the passengers off of the plane. Not a rationalization, just an observation.
There were other factors in play, when he retired, family matters. So, I am under the impression, he was splitting whatever pension he had with his estranged wife. She was in North Carolina. They were all being treated poorly upon their return. Wes had a major brawl at the local bar with a group of guys who started in on him. My mom wasn't happy about Wes using pool balls and ques on them. But she did say they started it.
I will let you know when I get a DD214. And, I will see if they are interested again. Who knows?
