DB Cooper

[skyjack71 0]

You have to know about 1971 and WHAT was available and and NOT available. Yes, I agree if it was small enough to fit in his jacket pockets he would NOT have had the bag.

Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber

[skyjack71 0]

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What 1:06 are you talking about.
Is it a picture of the plane while it was on the ground. Remember I only have dial-up and cannot play those clips.

It's just the news footage of the passengers getting off the plane. There is a shot of a guy holding a paper and string wrapped package (about the size of a phone book). You've no doubt seen it before.

Thank You.

Yes, I have seen that photo and somewhere I have the name of the man. He was one of the guys who boarded in Missoula.

The package was probably something he was taking home for Thanksgiving to his family. One can be sure the FBI did verify what was in that package.
Well, maybe not - who knows what the FBI did and did not do?

Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber

[377 22]

Robert99 wrote:

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377, Please arrange for the P3C at your earliest convenience. I assume you will also pay for the related expenses, which shouldn't be more than a million or two.

A P3C mission is beyond my means Robert but I have a freshly overhauled S2E coil based sub hunter magnetometer. Not very big or heavy. Has 400 hz servo motors for leveling the gimbled coils. Long story, was in a scrapyard selling stuff by the pound. I recogized what it was and couldn't bear to see it cut up. Cost $25.

Hunting for Cooper with metal detectors is a hopeless task. Nothing distinct about an NB6 in the ferromagnetic realm.

What are you hoping to accomplish by collecting NB6 hardware?

377

2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

[skyjack71 0]

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Found this thread:

02-06-2009, 07:56 PM
Several of us "old timers" in the sport believe we know D.B. Cooper's true identity.

oh? do tell...

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MVM02-06-2009, 09:02 PM
C'mon and fess up. Who is he?

As an aside: There used to be a bar in San Jose (CA) called DB Cooper's. Over the dance floor they had a mannequin suspended spread eagled from a parachute above him that was attached to the ceiling.

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chetlaw02-07-2009, 07:42 AM
His name is (or was) Norton Thomas. He dissapeared about 20 years ago while ferrying a Beech D18 to Hawaii. His dissapearance was, to say the least, pretty suspicious; He reported engine problems to the other Beechcraft accompanying him and just dissapeared. This happened at night and those of us who knew Norton like to believe he headed for South America with the money.

Anyway, Norton was from California, but moved to the Northwest about 5 years before the highjacking. He was a highly experienced skydiver and pilot. He was a colorful and fun-loving character who knew a lot of low people in high places as well as high people in low places. He was a lawyer who either had been, or at least had connections with the Hells Angels out of Oakland. His girlfriend, Jeannie McCombs, was a national skydiving champion who was killed in a skydiving accident in Elsinore California shortly after working on the film "Private Benjamin."

When I saw the composite drawing of D.B. Cooper, the first thing I thought was "that's Norton Thomas." He was a dead-ringer for the composit. Evidently the FBI thought so too because they questioned him more than once. He never admitted it to me or anyone I know, but he never denied it either (except, of course to the FBI). As far as I know, the consensus of those who knew him is that he was the one most likely to have pulled it off.

The skydiving community is pretty small and was much smaller back in 1971. For D.B. Cooper to have pulled it off, he would have had to have had some skills and knowledge (or, just maybe have been awfully lucky). Norton had those skills and knowledge and was just nuts enough to have done it.

I haven't thought of Norton in years, thanks for asking.

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ETriggs02-08-2009, 03:37 AM
His name is (or was) Norton Thomas. He dissapeared about 20 years ago while ferrying a Beech D18 to Hawaii. His dissapearance was, to say the least, pretty suspicious; He reported engine problems to the other Beechcraft accompanying him and just dissapeared. This happened at night and those of us who knew Norton like to believe he headed for South America with the money.

Anyway, Norton was from California, but moved to the Northwest about 5 years before the highjacking. He was a highly experienced skydiver and pilot. He was a colorful and fun-loving character who knew a lot of low people in high places as well as high people in low places. He was a lawyer who either had been, or at least had connections with the Hells Angels out of Oakland. His girlfriend, Jeannie McCombs, was a national skydiving champion who was killed in a skydiving accident in Elsinore California shortly after working on the film "Private Benjamin."

When I saw the composite drawing of D.B. Cooper, the first thing I thought was "that's Norton Thomas." He was a dead-ringer for the composit. Evidently the FBI thought so too because they questioned him more than once. He never admitted it to me or anyone I know, but he never denied it either (except, of course to the FBI). As far as I know, the consensus of those who knew him is that he was the one most likely to have pulled it off.

The skydiving community is pretty small and was much smaller back in 1971. For D.B. Cooper to have pulled it off, he would have had to have had some skills and knowledge (or, just maybe have been awfully lucky). Norton had those skills and knowledge and was just nuts enough to have done it.

I haven't thought of Norton in years, thanks for asking.

Did he file anything like a flight plan? It would be interesting to see if there is a Beechcraft in the drink where he claims to have gone down.

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chetlaw02-08-2009, 07:33 AM
Did he file anything like a flight plan? It would be interesting to see if there is a Beechcraft in the drink where he claims to have gone down.

I'm assuming he filed a flight plan. He was one of two twin Beeches they were ferrying to Hawaii. My understanding is that there was no sign of him or his plane when the rescue personell got to the location where he reported engine trouble. The other aircraft wisely continued on. There was no way he could have circled until the rescue personell arrived. Also, it was nighttime. No one actually saw him go down. The circumstances just add fuel to the idea that he headed for S. America. As for finding the location where he called in his "mayday": its an awful big ocean, and back then they didn't have GPS and some of the position location devices they do today. Look how long they have been trying to find Amelia Earhart's plane.

***************************

377

Could this be the NEW Cooper Suspect? Was he related or connected to the Mr. T I have mentioned for yrs? One I was told to "beware of" because he was VERY dangerous.

A subject I was told NOT to CONTACT by others. The name I knew him by was NOT Norton and he was very alive in the early 1980's...so if the Norton in question disappeared only 20 yrs ago - not the same man.

Also this man knew Duane by another name - John Collins and yet knew his name as Duane Weber.

I have related all of this in the forum in the past and to the FBI, but to NO avail. I was told the man was very dangerous and NOT to try to get in touch with him. He was still alive in 1981 and up until at least the last few yrs. I was warned the man was dangerous and connected. Wonder if I opened up a can of worms?

Could my Thomas and this Thomas be connected???P.S. When we met this man in 1981, but it could have been in 1980....the money in WA had already surfaced. I was never sure of the date. I knew we Flew to ATL and that is why I believe we were still in CO. In 1981 - we would have drove to ATL. I don't know which yr. it was.

A new suspect on the radar? But who is it? They took Sheridan's dna and now he is silent.

Any other recent suspects by anyone here or does anyone have any new information?

Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber

[Robert99 50]

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Robert99 wrote:

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377, Please arrange for the P3C at your earliest convenience. I assume you will also pay for the related expenses, which shouldn't be more than a million or two.

A P3C mission is beyond my means Robert but I have a freshly overhauled S2E coil based sub hunter magnetometer. Not very big or heavy. Has 400 hz servo motors for leveling the gimbled coils. Long story, was in a scrapyard selling stuff by the pound. I recogized what it was and couldn't bear to see it cut up. Cost $25.

Hunting for Cooper with metal detectors is a hopeless task. Nothing distinct about an NB6 in the ferromagnetic realm.

What are you hoping to accomplish by collecting NB6 hardware?

377

377, Do you have any suggestions about how to proceed in finding Cooper? After 39 years, there is no longer any point in waiting for someone's dog to drag something home.

Writing e-mails may be fun, but it doesn't seem to be making much progress in resolving this matter. I personally doubt that Cooper will be found while we are parked at our computers.

Robert

[377 22]

I don't have any great ideas for solving the mystery Robert but stirring things up, keeping the subject alive in the public mind is far more likely to bear fruit than a purposeful search for the rig. The people who found the Amboy chute were aware of DBC and the matter was brought to the attention of the FBI. The upcoming TV special will stir things up some more. Now, if someone finds some odd hardware or rig remains roughly in the flight path area it is reasonably likely that they will think DBC and not just ignore it.

Sitting at our computers has unearthed possibly relevant info. Air America 727 jumps and interesting DBC candidates like Sheridan Peterson and Ted Braden are examples. So is the connection between CIA covert air ops in SE Asia and USFS smoke jumpers. We haven't solved anything that is true, but we have dug up a lot of info and who knows where it might lead.

Trekking through the woods with a metal detector is sooooo unlikely to bear fruit. Too much area and too many things to dig up. Needle in a huge haystack.

377

2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.

[Robert99 50]

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I don't have any great ideas for solving the mystery Robert but stirring things up, keeping the subject alive in the public mind is far more likely to bear fruit than a purposeful search for the rig. The people who found the Amboy chute were aware of DBC and the matter was brought to the attention of the FBI. The upcoming TV special will stir things up some more. Now, if someone finds some odd hardware or rig remains roughly in the flight path area it is reasonably likely that they will think DBC and not just ignore it.

Sitting at our computers has unearthed possibly relevant info. Air America 727 jumps and interesting DBC candidates like Sheridan Peterson and Ted Braden are examples. So is the connection between CIA covert air ops in SE Asia and USFS smoke jumpers. We haven't solved anything that is true, but we have dug up a lot of info and who knows where it might lead.

Trekking through the woods with a metal detector is sooooo unlikely to bear fruit. Too much area and too many things to dig up. Needle in a huge haystack.

377

After a few years, or decades, computer searches have done about all they can do. Are you able to identify the flight path of the airliner? Not with the information released by the FBI. Do you have any idea where the haystack, even a huge one, is suppose to be?

Does anyone have an idea as to how the search for Cooper can be "rebooted" and stick to facts rather than speculations?

Robert

[airtwardo 7]

Does anyone have an idea as to how the search for Cooper can be "rebooted" and stick to facts rather than speculations?

Wouldn't make for a very long OR interesting narrative...

~ If you choke a Smurf, what color does it turn? ~

[Amazon 7]

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You could have stopped on about the fourth or fifth 'very'.

My point was that WolfRiverJoe said the dummy reserve was NOT sewn shut. FBI says it was. Who is right?

I understand now about the NB-6, though. But that other parachute went SOMEWHERE. Yet, most of the skydivers here say there was no place on the NB-6 to even attach the dummy reserve.

The obvious question: What happened to it?

Probably buried with the NB-6 some where out there.

Just a thought... depending on which hardware was on the reserve it would be possible to hook it to the harness of the NB-6 by sliding the webbing into the snaps.

I can show ya if you are interested.. I have a "few" old harness and containers.. and a few different belly mount reserves in the shed

Amazon, Do you have the hardware from an NB-6 rig that you are willing to sell? If possible, I would like to get all the metal parts from the container and including the pilot chute spring and the metal cone that was on the pilot chute.

Also, IMHO the NB-6 was not suitable at all even for a jury-rigged chest reserve. The NB-6's "X" type harness would probably result in taking the jumper's head off in the event the reserve was deployed and slid up that harness.

Robert

Sorry no.. all of my old rigs are servicible and I want to keep them including my NB-6
I have a bad habit of jumping this stuff in the summer and making big splashes into the lake... I LUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUV water jumps

[Amazon 7]

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Robert99 wrote:

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377, Please arrange for the P3C at your earliest convenience. I assume you will also pay for the related expenses, which shouldn't be more than a million or two.

A P3C mission is beyond my means Robert but I have a freshly overhauled S2E coil based sub hunter magnetometer. Not very big or heavy. Has 400 hz servo motors for leveling the gimbled coils. Long story, was in a scrapyard selling stuff by the pound. I recogized what it was and couldn't bear to see it cut up. Cost $25.

Hunting for Cooper with metal detectors is a hopeless task. Nothing distinct about an NB6 in the ferromagnetic realm.

What are you hoping to accomplish by collecting NB6 hardware?

377

Unless it has someway to discriminate betwixt the hardware...and all the crap left behind by the various logging operations from Old Growth to second growth cut all over that area.. many many tons of wire rope... chains lost from skidders... discarded saws.... log dogs and chain binders.... I hope you are getting the idea.

Hell I have even found several old double bladed axe heads.

The woods in SW WA are littered with that crap.

[Robert99 50]

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You have to know about 1971 and WHAT was available and and NOT available. Yes, I agree if it was small enough to fit in his jacket pockets he would NOT have had the bag.

Jo, In case you were addressing me with that remark, be aware that I do "know about 1971 and WHAT was available and NOT available" as well as 1961, 1951, 1941, and all the others since then. In fact, next Wednesday, November 24, 2010, will be the 39th anniversary of Cooper's hi-jacking and it will be another birthday for me as well.

Robert

[Robert99 50]

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Does anyone have an idea as to how the search for Cooper can be "rebooted" and stick to facts rather than speculations?

Wouldn't make for a very long OR interesting narrative...

Airtwardo, Admittedly, facts are dull and speculations are interesting. People seem to prefer the sizzle rather than the reality. Or to put it another way, sex sells.

Robert

[skyjack71 0]

Heard from another player in the Cooper Game. You all know who he is and this is a summary of what was said and what he asked:

Consistently for several yrs has gone on and on about Denny Nichols and now tells me this man was in Bay of Pigs and in the service with McCoy. Claims Nichols was a parchutist and assigned to train Duane.

He proceeded to ask me if I had any pictures of Nichols and any references to Operation 40.

I simply informed him that Mc Coy was not Cooper and I didn't know anything about Operation 40 and little about Mr. Nichols other than what he himself has told...NONE of which was ever verifiable.

I replied with " This is your story, Not mine!"

I don't want to say anything bad about him, as I know how others view me. In the beginning I listened to his story evolve and I baited him with "lies" which I copied to another man who I considered trust worthy and still do...so someone would know what I was doing. He would then come back with the "stories" about the bait and eventually I just WALKED away. I had to.

The only thing I have derived to this date is that he did Know Duane and he Did know the wife, because he placed the 2 of them in Bloomington at a time the wife of the times verified although not in the same time period.

There will always be something about his story that haunts me - but, I can't put my finger on it. Don't you guys dare say he is the male version of Jo. I listen to reason and my story has always been the same. Funny - a man I thought was him called himself Snow on a forum and the antics of this "Snow" got the forum shut down.

Curious though - what was Operation 40 or is this just in his mind. What the F--- would Denny Nichols have to do with Skyjack? Who is this Nichols? I know who I was led to believe he was - BUT?

Since we have explored many things - maybe we need to look at the things he claims.

QUADE: Please don't let him post or everything will get crazy, but maybe we need to discuss this Nichols...among ourselves and decide if his story is anymore than a figment of his imagination. I really could never figure out what the guy was all about.

Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber

[skyjack71 0]

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You have to know about 1971 and WHAT was available and and NOT available. Yes, I agree if it was small enough to fit in his jacket pockets he would NOT have had the bag.

Jo, In case you were addressing me with that remark, be aware that I do "know about 1971 and WHAT was available and NOT available" as well as 1961, 1951, 1941, and all the others since then. In fact, next Wednesday, November 24, 2010, will be the 39th anniversary of Cooper's hi-jacking and it will be another birthday for me as well.Robert

Didn't mean to step on your toes - I thought you were a young squirt, but you are an old Fart like me.

Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber

[skyjack71 0]

Skyjack71 stated:
The sack was NOT large enough to hold a hard hat...whatever was in the sack had to be small or soft. This WAS NOT a grocery bag for heaven sakes. It was Lunch Bag size....and we don't mean styrofoam lunch box size...

Blevins states;
Who says what size it is? WHO?




Himmelsbach was the one who mentioned the size to me yrs ago. Just a small bag - the size one would carry a lunch or something that had been picked up in one of the concessions. They even questioned the concessions about any purchase he may have made...but, no one remembered him.

Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber

[skyjack71 0]

14 yrs and 6 months later - it is over. Tonight - at 4:56 AM on Nov. 21, 2010 after spending most of the night preparing some flyers and reviewing old files - I found what I have been looking for all of these yrs.

I even lit a cigarette in the house and it is on my desk as I type. Also sitting on the desk is a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.
I have found what I was looking for.

The answer has been in front of me since day one. Duane had mentioned Paperlegs to me several times in our 17 yrs together. The realization that he had told me about his life came with the article 99 posted about Treasure Island.

Then we discussed Colorado and my memories of those days and the things he told me at that time...have not stopped since the day I read that article from July 29, 1957. I could not understand how I could have been so naive, but that is just the way it is.

Duane did NOT lie to me about his past - he told me about his life, but he lied by omission. That news article caused me to look hard at our life together and to remember the things he had said.

When I read about the man giving his occupation as "crook" this took me by surprise. I didn't say anything at that time, because I had not digested what I suddenly knew.

Duane told me several times he knew Paperlegs...but, I could never make the connection. Now the connection is in my face and if it is not in your face than you are blind. I was lost and then I was found. I was blind and now I can see. I was never deaf and this forum has actually solved this case...perhaps by only accident...but then maybe someone has been leading me all the way thru.

The article pointed out to me that my husband was a con man very blatantly, but that he had NOT lied to me about his past.
You see he had told me about the man who was arrested and gave his occupation as "crook" on one of our trips to FL., This was the same trip he told me about a family member who owned a home in St. Pete...this was actually true.

I remembered this because I laughed and told him that was a Stupid thing for this man to do...but, never gave it another thought until I read that article.
You guys have no idea where I have been these last few days in my mind and in my memories.

Then I started to think about all of the other things he told me - and they were actually true...he just told the stories in the 3rd person like it was someone else.

Then I started to relive the Colorado days and the things he told me there. Well, I made the connection between Paperlegs and Duane tonight. If you guys don't see it then you are the ones who are blind and deaf.

It took one more small article for me to make the connection after we discussed the yrs from 1960 to 1964...and Canon City. Our government was involved in Duane's past, but inadvertenty and perhaps not by design. When he told me about the manuevers in Canon City which I later verified thur residents in the area...Now it all comes together. Pehaps only in my mind, but I believe it is true.

This is when the camps in Co (three of them) became a focal point and I believe our government actually trained him, but he may have been using another name. He talked about Canon City, a place north of Ft. Collins and an area around Leadville. He actually took me to these places...and told me stories. This is why the ex-wife's stories seemed so convoluted. As you know she met him in Boulder, Co. in 1962 and she had family there...she did not have custody of her children until 1966 or later. I don't know why this is relevant, but for some reason I think it is. They went to Kansas in 1964 and this is when he went to work for Pyramid Life Insurance and screwed up again in 1966 ending up on the run and back in prison.

From the places she told me they went during those yrs and what I have found out about what was going on during those yrs...Paperlegs was in all of those places...during that same time frame. How vividly I remember her talking about how she hated that place - I forget where it was now...just outside of that large base - IN PLANE SITE.
Every place they went Paperlegs' background took him at the same time. He helped train these guys! Not all of them cut the grade, but since this training was sort of outside of the limits the US wanted to make public - "others" were used to help facilitate the missions. I have no idea if Duane ever made the grade or if he was required to participate or if he just managed to con his way in to this - but 2 or 3 yrs of his life was utilized in these programs.

All of the stories she told me about Duane being gone for several wks at a time - true. I am not sure he actually did go on a mission, but I am not sure what his involvement was other than support. I can't imagine him killing anyone, but my daughter thinks differently. Maybe he was just the dishwasher. He did tell me about something, but I have a hard time really believing this even now.

Maybe I have just made ALL of this up, but do you really think I would be smoking in my house and have a bottle of wine in my hand at 5;55 AM on a Sunday morning if that was true.

Maybe I have just lost my mind.

No I haven't taken any medication. No I am not drunk.
I am just crazy - right?

Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber

[Sluggo_Monster 0]

All,

I while trying to figure out what Jo has been carrying-on about I finally came to a startling conclusion:
Everyone who has both smokejumper and CIA experience is named "Peterson"!

Now... isn't that odd?

Peterson, Richard A. "Paperlegs" (McCall 1947)
posted: January 01, 2002
The long-time (47-62) McCall jumper and CIA employee was felled by a heart attack and died peacefully at his home in Weiser, ID on Oct. 19, 1999.

Richard was born March 3, 1927, at Gannett, Idaho, the son of Martin and Madge Leazenby Peterson. He attended elementary school in Gannett and began high school at Hailey. He left during his senior year in 1945 to join the U.S. Army and trained as a paratrooper at Fort Benning, Ga., with the 82nd Airborne. He was honorably discharged in 1946 and returned to graduate from Salmon High School in 1947.

Paperlegs became a smokejumper with the U.S. Forest Service the summer of 1947. From then until 1954 he spent summers as a smokejumper and winters in mining. He went full-time with the Forest Service in 1955 and made over 200 parachute jumps throughout the western United States.

He was a member of the National Smokejumper Association, and is fondly recalled as "Paperlegs." From 1962-1973 he worked as a parachute dispatch officer for Intermountain Aviation involved with special operations in Tibet, Laos, Vietnam, Cuba, India and Peru.

He met and married Ridgely Chapline in 1964. The couple lived in Tucson, Ariz. They moved to Lander, Wyo., in 1973, where he worked as a miner. In 1982 they returned to Salmon, and resided there until moving to Weiser in 1994. He is survived by his wife, Ridgely.




Found at:
http://history.idaho.gov/smokejumper/sj_indexes/johnson.pdf

Web Page
Blog
NORJAK Forum

[EVickiW 0]

Does this have anything to do with the stories I have read on the D.B. Cooper page on Facebook?

http://www.facebook.com/pages/DB-Cooper/10001004301

According to Bob K from the Minneapolis area, these covert government operations happened in Minnesota and included McCoy, Weber and "the Boss".

I have seen Blevins on this Facebook "fan page". Everyone.......tell me what you think.

Melvin Luther Wilson - Missing Person since September 1971:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03QLnFvk8Fs

[smokin99 0]

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Does this have anything to do with the stories I have read on the D.B. Cooper page on Facebook?

http://www.facebook.com/pages/DB-Cooper/10001004301

According to Bob K from the Minneapolis area, these covert government operations happened in Minnesota and included McCoy, Weber and "the Boss".

I have seen Blevins on this Facebook "fan page". Everyone.......tell me what you think.

I don't know if Bob K is delusional or not, but the basic premise about smokejumpers / CIA, seems to be pretty well documented. Troy Reeves, (Oral History, Wisconsin, Idaho) did an oral history project on smokejumpers and some of them go into the CIA missions.

http://nwda-db.wsulibs.wsu.edu/nwda-search/fstyle.aspx?doc=oihohsmoke.xml&t


http://www.history.idaho.gov/smokejumper.html

Fascinating stuff. Thanks, Sluggo

but....A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.....Winston Churchill

[smokin99 0]

And the number one reason why I need to quit reading DropZone is......

Posts that get me interested in finding out more about historical stuff, Today, for example, has carried me to smoke jumper's experiences, the CIA's secret war in Tibet, Intermountain Aviation, Air America. All of which I've been reading since Jo and Sluggo's posts....when I really need to be doing other things...

..I even got out a magnifying glass to see if I could make out if that's a person sitting in the chair by the pool on Jo's picture.... and I feel strangely drawn to emoticons. I think I'm in serious need of an intervention

but....A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.....Winston Churchill

[skyjack71 0]

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Bob K is DEFINITELY delusional. He lives somewhere between Disneyland and Wonderland.

Yeah...I posted at that Facebook page a couple of times, but I haven't been there in a while. The Delusional One started sending me weird emails. I ended up putting him on my Google Bad List.

I love G-mail. When you do this to someone, they don't even realize their messages aren't getting through, since there is no bounce. Their weird crap just stops appearing in your inbox, and is instantly deleted.

I won't list my long and tedious involvement with this man. I would feed him a lie and then he would reply with this long fantasy story. Everything I baited him with Doug Pasternak knew about.
Finally he started backing down from his out landish claimes, but it was just too late for me to give him anymore leash the way he was running and in the wrong direction. I have no IDEA WHERE he is now.

Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber

[skyjack71 0]

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And the number one reason why I need to quit reading DropZone is......

Posts that get me interested in finding out more about historical stuff, Today, for example, has carried me to smoke jumper's experiences, the CIA's secret war in Tibet, Intermountain Aviation, Air America. All of which I've been reading since Jo and Sluggo's posts....when I really need to be doing other things...

..I even got out a magnifying glass to see if I could make out if that's a person sitting in the chair by the pool on Jo's picture.... and I feel strangely drawn to emoticons. I think I'm in serious need of an intervention

Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber

[skyjack71 0]

Thank You Sluggo:

I could not think of the man's name to save my soul. I just remembered Paperlegs and the stories Duane told me and the ex-wife told me and all of these places he talked about - and I realized the answer was infront of me ALL of these yrs. It took an article from 1957 to cause my eyes to get WIDE open and for my memory to suddenly link all of the things he had told me over the yrs.

What will it prove if I am able to establish a relationship between the 2 men? Note that Paperlegs was a communications specialist and remember what we have all tried to figure out over these last 14 yrs. We knew Duane had some kind of special knowledge of communications - but, nothing in his background to substantiate it.

Hell, I don't even know what Paperlegs looked like. I believe I found one photo yrs ago of him as a very dapper young man in a jumpsuit - but, nothing else.
The chemistry is ALL there and the background is ALL there - now it is a matter of putting the mix together...and try to unravel the past.

Perhaps there is a better trail for Paperlegs beckground and it will make what I know about Duane make more sense - but, them maybe NOT. I know the answer lies withing their relationship whatever that was.

Copyright 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 2013, 2014, 2015 by Jo Weber

[hangdiver 1]

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Could this be the NEW Cooper Suspect? Was he related or connected to the Mr. T I have mentioned for yrs? One I was told to "beware of" because he was VERY dangerous.

Well I never knew "Norton" personally but I do know a couple of stories.

First...he wasn't jumping in 1971 as far as I know

Second...I was told before Perry Stevens would give him the FJC he had to lose about 100 lbs. Which he did.

Third...his name wasn't "Norton", he was a Hells Angel and the only one who road a Norton motorcycle.
You may guess why his nickname was "Norton".

HERE is a story that mentions him in about 1977 jumping in Antioch, Ca.

Fourth...I was told these stories by "Crazy Jack" and that is a whole other story.

"Mans got to know his limitations"
Harry Callahan

[377 22]

Perry Stevens taught me how to jump in 1968. I used to jump at Livermore and Antioch then later at Pope Valley. I dont recall when Perry took over the Antioch DZ. I jumped there in the very early 70s. Don't recall any Norton character or anyone matching his description. There were a few "Big Boys" jumping with oversized canopies, Merle was one I remember.

This Norton guy who had to lose 100 lbs to jump doesnt sound like a Cooper body type match.

377

2018 marks half a century as a skydiver. Trained by the late Perry Stevens D-51 in 1968.