1 00:00:02,080 --> 00:00:05,200 Speaker 1: Six weeks ago, a light plane carrying House majority leader 2 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:08,960 Speaker 1: of Hail Bobs and Alaskan representative Nick Vegas, disappeared on 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:11,920 Speaker 1: a flight in Alaska. Today, the Air Force They're announced 4 00:00:11,920 --> 00:00:25,720 Speaker 1: that the search is being called off. On November two, 5 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:30,240 Speaker 1: the largest search in American history ended in failure. Despite 6 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:34,479 Speaker 1: a colossal effort spanning thirty nine days and three thousand 7 00:00:34,479 --> 00:00:38,159 Speaker 1: square miles, no sign of the missing plane surfaced, at 8 00:00:38,240 --> 00:00:42,159 Speaker 1: least at the time, despite the efforts of Coast Guard cutters, 9 00:00:42,440 --> 00:00:45,760 Speaker 1: a top secret spy plane, an elite Army mountain unit, 10 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:50,959 Speaker 1: and hundreds of volunteers. Nothing despite more than a thousand 11 00:00:50,960 --> 00:00:54,360 Speaker 1: Air Force sorties, forty seven thousand feet of film covering 12 00:00:54,360 --> 00:00:57,000 Speaker 1: a hundred and twenty five thousand square miles of terrain, 13 00:00:57,400 --> 00:01:07,800 Speaker 1: and eight possible sightings. Nothing. Despite everything, nothing, Your first 14 00:01:07,840 --> 00:01:12,160 Speaker 1: reaction might be, well, it's Alaska, that's not surprising, and 15 00:01:12,240 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: that was mine too, at least initially, But for no 16 00:01:15,680 --> 00:01:19,119 Speaker 1: sign of the plane, not one solitary piece to ever 17 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:23,160 Speaker 1: surface was very rare, according to Air Force Major Henry Soccer, 18 00:01:23,360 --> 00:01:28,640 Speaker 1: who told reporters that quote, what we're looking for we 19 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:32,880 Speaker 1: locate of the last twere planes to vanish in Alaska 20 00:01:33,000 --> 00:01:42,520 Speaker 1: An official said only three had never been found. From 21 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:45,360 Speaker 1: my Heart media, this is missing in Alaska, The story 22 00:01:45,400 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 1: of two congressmen who vanished in two and my quest 23 00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:51,440 Speaker 1: to figure out what happened to them. I'm your host, 24 00:01:51,560 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: John Wallzac. Two days before the surge ended, Peggy beget 25 00:02:04,200 --> 00:02:08,239 Speaker 1: Nick's wife received a sinister cryptic letter pasted together from 26 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:13,440 Speaker 1: scraps of newspaper like an old time ransom note. Your husband, 27 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:17,560 Speaker 1: Mr Beck, an American Croatian Alaska Democratic rep. Has been 28 00:02:17,560 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: assassinated by our organization. He and others aboard will not 29 00:02:21,960 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: be found reason criminally insane nature of his pact with 30 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:32,840 Speaker 1: American Croats separatists. Congressional record e one three five nine 31 00:02:32,919 --> 00:02:39,080 Speaker 1: five nine six. Croatian nation doesn't exist, never did. Same 32 00:02:39,160 --> 00:02:43,760 Speaker 1: will happen to everybody in destructible engagement against our dear Yugoslavia. 33 00:02:44,600 --> 00:02:48,480 Speaker 1: High position in American fascist government will not matter. We 34 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:53,560 Speaker 1: are not in connection with Yugoslav government, organization of Yugoslav Nationalists, 35 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 1: or you nah. The letter arrived in a handwritten no 36 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,200 Speaker 1: envelope post smart November twenty and mailed from Detroit. Think 37 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:06,000 Speaker 1: about that for a minute. Someone took the time to 38 00:03:06,080 --> 00:03:09,800 Speaker 1: pacete together an anonymous letter from newspaper clippings, then mailed 39 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: it in a handwritten envelope. Sure they could have had 40 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,720 Speaker 1: someone else mail it, maybe a friend in Detroit, but 41 00:03:15,840 --> 00:03:19,600 Speaker 1: the whole thing seemed amateurish, like some kind of bumbling hoax. 42 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,800 Speaker 1: That said, the FBI took it seriously, and for good reason. 43 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 1: Starting in the nineteen sixties, Croatian separatists had waged a 44 00:03:28,160 --> 00:03:32,919 Speaker 1: violent international campaign to establish an independent Croatian nation split 45 00:03:32,960 --> 00:03:36,720 Speaker 1: off from socialist Yugoslavia. For two decades, they carried out 46 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:41,280 Speaker 1: a series of high profile hijackings, bombings, and assassinations, including 47 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: multiple attacks in nineteen seventy two, the year Beget, who 48 00:03:44,560 --> 00:03:48,840 Speaker 1: was of Croatian ancestry, disappeared. Perhaps the most famous occurred 49 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:52,640 Speaker 1: in January nineteen seventy two, when a briefcase bomb planted 50 00:03:52,640 --> 00:03:58,280 Speaker 1: by separatists ripped apart a commercial airliner high over Czechoslovakia. Today, 51 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:00,560 Speaker 1: the bombing is best remembered not for the twenty seven 52 00:04:00,600 --> 00:04:02,880 Speaker 1: people who died, but for the one who lived, a 53 00:04:02,920 --> 00:04:06,440 Speaker 1: flight attendant named Vesna Volkovich, who survived a thirty three 54 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:10,160 Speaker 1: thousand foot fall to the ground. Eight months later, on 55 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: September sixteenth, nineteen seventy two, exactly one month of the 56 00:04:13,720 --> 00:04:18,200 Speaker 1: day before Nick Beggett vanished, separatists conducted near simultaneous attacks 57 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:22,240 Speaker 1: on two different continents, hijacking in Sweden and bombing in Australia. 58 00:04:22,920 --> 00:04:25,240 Speaker 1: That day was a turning point for the movement. According 59 00:04:25,240 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 1: to doctor matte Nikola Tokes, the author of a book 60 00:04:28,120 --> 00:04:32,720 Speaker 1: called Croatian Radical Separatism and Diaspora Terrorism during the Cold War, 61 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,280 Speaker 1: these two events in coordination with one another, actually very 62 00:04:36,320 --> 00:04:40,440 Speaker 1: quickly marked I think an important turning point for Chreatian terrorists, 63 00:04:40,480 --> 00:04:44,279 Speaker 1: this idea that there are no innocent victims. Before nineteen 64 00:04:44,520 --> 00:04:49,440 Speaker 1: September nineteen seventy two, creations were very clear about targeting 65 00:04:49,480 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 1: either institutions of the state or those they deemed to 66 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:55,800 Speaker 1: be involved in the state. So they were more than 67 00:04:55,839 --> 00:05:00,480 Speaker 1: willing to to target civilians in places like Belgrade Um 68 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:04,400 Speaker 1: Serbian civilians and they're thinking who in any case couldn't 69 00:05:04,440 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 1: be innocent. But for the first time, non Serbs, non 70 00:05:08,480 --> 00:05:12,680 Speaker 1: Yugoslavs were involved in Christian terrorism with the hijacking of 71 00:05:12,680 --> 00:05:16,000 Speaker 1: the airplane and then with the bombing on George Street 72 00:05:16,120 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 1: in in Sydney. Dr Tokis, who conducted extensive research for 73 00:05:20,400 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: his book had access to, among other things, the papers 74 00:05:23,640 --> 00:05:27,000 Speaker 1: of certain international spy agencies. I asked him if he 75 00:05:27,040 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 1: ever came across any mention of Nick Baggett. I've never 76 00:05:30,120 --> 00:05:34,080 Speaker 1: come across discussions of him in any security services archives 77 00:05:34,120 --> 00:05:36,800 Speaker 1: that I've seen. Clearly, there's a lot of stuff I 78 00:05:36,880 --> 00:05:39,880 Speaker 1: was never able to get to, but particularly in Australia Asio, 79 00:05:40,080 --> 00:05:45,239 Speaker 1: which belongs to the Five Eyes Agreement, so the United States, Canada, 80 00:05:46,040 --> 00:05:49,920 Speaker 1: Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and Baggage never comes up 81 00:05:50,160 --> 00:05:54,000 Speaker 1: in any of those documents. Beggage had no known ties 82 00:05:54,040 --> 00:05:57,320 Speaker 1: as separatists, though he did speak to the American Croatian 83 00:05:57,400 --> 00:06:02,240 Speaker 1: Academic Club of Cleveland, Ohio into nine, but that speech 84 00:06:02,279 --> 00:06:05,760 Speaker 1: was benign. Not everyone advocating for an independent Croatian state 85 00:06:05,800 --> 00:06:08,520 Speaker 1: was violent. The only reason I'm even mentioning it is 86 00:06:08,560 --> 00:06:11,039 Speaker 1: because it's what you'll find referenced in the exact part 87 00:06:11,040 --> 00:06:13,919 Speaker 1: of the Congressional record cited in the letter claiming Baggage 88 00:06:13,960 --> 00:06:17,320 Speaker 1: had been assassinated, which, by the way, how many hoaxters 89 00:06:17,360 --> 00:06:21,040 Speaker 1: cite the Congressional record That letter had been signed by 90 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:23,760 Speaker 1: a right wing fascist group called or You naw The 91 00:06:23,880 --> 00:06:28,360 Speaker 1: organization of Yugoslav nationalists. The only problem by the time 92 00:06:28,400 --> 00:06:31,640 Speaker 1: Beggatt vanished or you not have been defunct for forty 93 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:35,520 Speaker 1: three years. Dr Tolke, it's for one, despite deep digging, 94 00:06:35,800 --> 00:06:38,680 Speaker 1: never found a single reference to any group claiming to 95 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,800 Speaker 1: be or Youna between nine and now until I emailed him. 96 00:06:43,120 --> 00:06:45,480 Speaker 1: Do you think that the most likely explanation is that 97 00:06:45,520 --> 00:06:50,760 Speaker 1: this letter was in fact not sent by pro Yugoslav individuals, 98 00:06:50,880 --> 00:06:55,960 Speaker 1: that by the Croasian separatists. That to me would be 99 00:06:55,960 --> 00:07:00,480 Speaker 1: the most likely UM explanation, right, it's it's the way 100 00:07:00,720 --> 00:07:08,200 Speaker 1: of exploiting this tragedy to force FBI attention away from 101 00:07:08,279 --> 00:07:13,840 Speaker 1: krots towards other groups right to to you know, because 102 00:07:13,840 --> 00:07:19,640 Speaker 1: the resources for combating these organizations was quite small, I 103 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:23,080 Speaker 1: mean they were very limited, certainly in the beginning. And 104 00:07:23,240 --> 00:07:26,120 Speaker 1: the idea is if if the FBI is spending its 105 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:31,920 Speaker 1: time chasing shadows or chasing organizations that don't exist, all 106 00:07:31,960 --> 00:07:37,360 Speaker 1: the better that they're not chasing pro separatist movements UM. 107 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:41,080 Speaker 1: And I can very easily see the thinking on the 108 00:07:41,160 --> 00:07:43,720 Speaker 1: part of this letter writer is saying like, look, you know, 109 00:07:44,320 --> 00:07:48,240 Speaker 1: there aren't so many people UM engaged in these questions 110 00:07:48,240 --> 00:07:51,680 Speaker 1: in the FBI, and if they are occupied otherwise, not 111 00:07:51,760 --> 00:07:53,800 Speaker 1: with us, but with something that they'll never even be 112 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:58,320 Speaker 1: able to find, than less time for them to deal 113 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:04,160 Speaker 1: with us. And this letter strikes me most likely as 114 00:08:04,160 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: serving that purpose, and serve that purpose it did. The 115 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:13,200 Speaker 1: FBI conducted investigations in eight cities, even interviewing Baggage his 116 00:08:13,280 --> 00:08:16,280 Speaker 1: parents in Minnesota, but it found no proof of any 117 00:08:16,280 --> 00:08:20,240 Speaker 1: plot to murder the congressman. Curiously, though, the Bureau did 118 00:08:20,280 --> 00:08:24,080 Speaker 1: recover too latent fingerprints from the handwritten envelope. I'm not 119 00:08:24,120 --> 00:08:27,200 Speaker 1: sure whether or not those fingerprints still exist, believe me, 120 00:08:27,280 --> 00:08:29,920 Speaker 1: I looked, But if they do, tucked away in a 121 00:08:29,960 --> 00:08:32,679 Speaker 1: file somewhere, it would be fascinating to run them through 122 00:08:32,720 --> 00:08:35,200 Speaker 1: a modern database to see if any matches pop up. 123 00:09:01,679 --> 00:09:06,199 Speaker 1: In late December, the missing men were declared dead. Hail 124 00:09:06,280 --> 00:09:09,480 Speaker 1: Boggs of Louisiana, who was lost last year in an 125 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:12,760 Speaker 1: aeroplane over Alaska, was a man who belonged to the 126 00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,920 Speaker 1: House of Representatives as much as any member in this century. 127 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:19,040 Speaker 1: Boggs was Majority leader when he was lost. In Today, 128 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:22,800 Speaker 1: many of his congressional colleagues, along with Vice President Agnew 129 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:25,880 Speaker 1: and former President Lyndon Johnson, were in New Orleans for 130 00:09:25,920 --> 00:09:31,680 Speaker 1: a memorial service. Fred Briggs was there. The memorial service 131 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:34,600 Speaker 1: was held at St. Louis Cathedral in the French Quarter. 132 00:09:35,000 --> 00:09:38,160 Speaker 1: It was open to the public, friends, political and personal, 133 00:09:38,200 --> 00:09:41,680 Speaker 1: and that takes in a considerable number of people. The 134 00:09:41,760 --> 00:09:44,600 Speaker 1: late Hail Boggs with a Southern Democrat. In his thirty 135 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:47,760 Speaker 1: two years of service in Congress, he bucked many regional trends. 136 00:09:48,120 --> 00:09:50,679 Speaker 1: He became an outspoken civil rights advocate. In the mid 137 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:53,599 Speaker 1: nineteen six piece, he called for the resignation of j. 138 00:09:53,800 --> 00:09:56,920 Speaker 1: Edgar Hoover, and he even criticized the oil the police 139 00:09:56,920 --> 00:09:59,600 Speaker 1: in the lawrence, which is not a necessarily popular thing 140 00:09:59,679 --> 00:10:02,760 Speaker 1: to do when an oil stake went Louisiana. Yet throughout 141 00:10:02,800 --> 00:10:05,480 Speaker 1: all this he remained immensely popular in his home state 142 00:10:05,720 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 1: and with his colleagues in Washington. They were here today 143 00:10:08,640 --> 00:10:16,239 Speaker 1: to pay their last respects. If Hail Boggs the individual 144 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:26,240 Speaker 1: cast a giant shadow, so did his nearly three decades 145 00:10:26,320 --> 00:10:34,920 Speaker 1: of distinguished service in the House of Representatives. He loved 146 00:10:35,720 --> 00:10:43,640 Speaker 1: the House, where the esteem, respect and love in which 147 00:10:43,679 --> 00:10:48,679 Speaker 1: he was held by all members, regardless of political persuasion, 148 00:10:50,280 --> 00:10:54,679 Speaker 1: have never been surpassed in the history of that great institution. 149 00:10:56,360 --> 00:11:03,720 Speaker 1: He loved his colleagues, he loved his friends, he loved 150 00:11:03,760 --> 00:11:13,440 Speaker 1: his family, he loved people, he loved his country, love all. 151 00:11:14,760 --> 00:11:20,520 Speaker 1: He loves his God. Three days later, in Alaska, hundreds 152 00:11:20,520 --> 00:11:23,040 Speaker 1: gathered at East Anchorage High School to pay tribute to 153 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:32,000 Speaker 1: Nick Baggage. Sunday, January seven has been proclaimed Nick Baggage 154 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:39,480 Speaker 1: Memorial Tribute Day. The voice of Governor William Egan, we 155 00:11:39,520 --> 00:11:43,600 Speaker 1: are going to miss our friend who contributed so much 156 00:11:44,280 --> 00:11:49,480 Speaker 1: to the well being of all Alaska during his time 157 00:11:49,559 --> 00:11:57,760 Speaker 1: with us, distinguished visitors, and makes me love of family. 158 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:03,840 Speaker 1: There's something about this great land of ours that attracts men. 159 00:12:05,760 --> 00:12:11,959 Speaker 1: Perhaps it is a land it's awesome and even terrifying beauty, 160 00:12:12,720 --> 00:12:17,120 Speaker 1: the richness of its vast wilderness, the bounty of its 161 00:12:17,160 --> 00:12:23,960 Speaker 1: forests and streams. Perhaps it is the opportunity the fabled 162 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 1: El Dorado, the adventure land we learned about as boys, 163 00:12:27,920 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: in which part of us will always pursue. Perhaps it 164 00:12:34,320 --> 00:12:39,120 Speaker 1: is a challenge of life in a society that is 165 00:12:39,120 --> 00:12:43,160 Speaker 1: still in the making of existence, in the land where 166 00:12:43,240 --> 00:12:48,000 Speaker 1: natural always have the upper hand, for the small tasks 167 00:12:48,000 --> 00:12:51,760 Speaker 1: of survival must compete with the great decisions of the day. 168 00:12:54,600 --> 00:12:59,400 Speaker 1: Perhaps it is the people. Whatever the reasons, many come, 169 00:13:01,240 --> 00:13:06,960 Speaker 1: but as all of us know, very few stay. The 170 00:13:07,040 --> 00:13:10,439 Speaker 1: challenge of Alaska exceed the strength of all but a few. 171 00:13:11,040 --> 00:13:18,560 Speaker 1: Good Man Nick Baggage was one who stayed, for he 172 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:24,800 Speaker 1: was one of us and Alaska and for all and 173 00:13:24,840 --> 00:13:29,120 Speaker 1: anything that means he is with hers still. That was 174 00:13:29,200 --> 00:13:35,480 Speaker 1: Email Naughty, a prominent Democratic activists and Alaska native. One 175 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,640 Speaker 1: week after the memorial, Naughty and dozens of others gathered 176 00:13:38,640 --> 00:13:40,800 Speaker 1: at a convention to choose a candidate to run in 177 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:43,800 Speaker 1: a special election called to fill the state's vacant health seat. 178 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:48,720 Speaker 1: Three people saw the nomination Naughty, State Senator Chancy Croft 179 00:13:48,920 --> 00:13:52,000 Speaker 1: and Peggy Baggage. Thanks, Oh, we are now about to 180 00:13:52,040 --> 00:13:54,600 Speaker 1: set aside as much of our sorrow as our hearts 181 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:57,520 Speaker 1: still allowed, and to undertake the process of selecting a 182 00:13:57,640 --> 00:14:01,679 Speaker 1: succestance to the last of the US seat. As both 183 00:14:01,679 --> 00:14:05,280 Speaker 1: a candidate and as Nick's widows, I recognized my own 184 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:09,000 Speaker 1: responsibility to indicate the time for setting the side memories 185 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:14,120 Speaker 1: and undertaking that process. That time is now, and I 186 00:14:14,120 --> 00:14:17,920 Speaker 1: expect that Alaskans will react with the same resilience and 187 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:22,760 Speaker 1: hard work that always surfaces of difficult times. During the 188 00:14:22,800 --> 00:14:25,960 Speaker 1: past two weeks. I have traveled throughout the state and 189 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:29,920 Speaker 1: spoken with countless alostoms. I've spoken with many of you, 190 00:14:30,440 --> 00:14:34,360 Speaker 1: and with friends in Washington. Do seem although the events 191 00:14:34,360 --> 00:14:36,960 Speaker 1: of the past few days have prevented my speaking to you, 192 00:14:37,480 --> 00:14:40,720 Speaker 1: I wanted to call this meeting today to renew our discussion, 193 00:14:41,360 --> 00:14:44,800 Speaker 1: to give you the open opportunity to question me, and 194 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:47,240 Speaker 1: to say with as much force as I am able. 195 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:51,400 Speaker 1: I am a candidate, and I doubt that many of 196 00:14:51,400 --> 00:14:55,320 Speaker 1: you will ever see a more resolute or committed candidates. 197 00:14:56,560 --> 00:15:00,520 Speaker 1: Competition at the convention was civil but fierce. At one point, 198 00:15:00,600 --> 00:15:03,480 Speaker 1: Peggy claimed an important committee had been rigged against her 199 00:15:04,240 --> 00:15:07,040 Speaker 1: when she placed third in an initial vote, She decided 200 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 1: to throw her support to Naughty, who then won. Imor Nati, 201 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:12,920 Speaker 1: president of the Alaska Native Foundation and chairman of the 202 00:15:12,960 --> 00:15:15,800 Speaker 1: party that nominated him, a thirty nine year old Native 203 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:19,000 Speaker 1: born of Athabaskan and the Italian heritage in the river 204 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:22,480 Speaker 1: village of Payattunk, now the first Alaska Native ever nominated 205 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:31,560 Speaker 1: to run for Congress, Larry Carpenter broadcast Center News. Naught 206 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:34,560 Speaker 1: East triumph was short lived, though a month later he 207 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:38,040 Speaker 1: narrowly lost the special election to Republican Don Young, a 208 00:15:38,160 --> 00:15:41,400 Speaker 1: riverboat captain from fort Yukon, Alaska, who had been defeated 209 00:15:41,400 --> 00:15:44,400 Speaker 1: by Nick Beggett's the previous November. Even though Beggetts was 210 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:48,440 Speaker 1: missing and presumed at at the time amazingly, Young, now 211 00:15:48,560 --> 00:15:52,160 Speaker 1: eighty six, still serves in Congress. I spoke with him 212 00:15:52,160 --> 00:15:55,760 Speaker 1: by phone in late and so, Congressman, you're the Dean 213 00:15:55,760 --> 00:15:59,160 Speaker 1: of the House, the longest serving Republican congressman in American history, 214 00:15:59,520 --> 00:16:02,200 Speaker 1: one of the ten longest serving congressman of any party 215 00:16:02,200 --> 00:16:05,400 Speaker 1: in history. Often referred to as alaska As third Senator. 216 00:16:06,200 --> 00:16:08,440 Speaker 1: But you hold another distinction, one of the only people 217 00:16:08,480 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 1: to lose a Congressional race to a dead man. Uh. 218 00:16:12,320 --> 00:16:13,960 Speaker 1: Do you think you would be in Congress today if 219 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:18,080 Speaker 1: Nick Beggatts had lived? That's the question I can't answer. 220 00:16:18,200 --> 00:16:20,320 Speaker 1: A chance to be, you know, because remember I were 221 00:16:20,520 --> 00:16:22,640 Speaker 1: from fort Yukon, I was setting up to run and 222 00:16:22,720 --> 00:16:26,200 Speaker 1: seventy four. Uh, but you know who knows what the 223 00:16:26,280 --> 00:16:29,240 Speaker 1: votes November? It was a Democrat state. We had that 224 00:16:29,320 --> 00:16:32,120 Speaker 1: Bill Egan was with. The governor was a Demot the 225 00:16:32,120 --> 00:16:37,560 Speaker 1: Democratic legislative body. These were good Democrats, by the way. Uh. So, Uh, 226 00:16:37,960 --> 00:16:40,920 Speaker 1: you know who knows, uh, you know, he beat me, 227 00:16:41,400 --> 00:16:44,160 Speaker 1: but I was able to come through the general election. 228 00:16:45,360 --> 00:16:48,960 Speaker 1: Around the same time Beggatt's vanished, Young himself had narrowly 229 00:16:49,000 --> 00:16:52,360 Speaker 1: avoided a deadly crash, something all too common in Alaska. 230 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:55,680 Speaker 1: I got on an airplane once eighty five with my 231 00:16:55,720 --> 00:16:59,640 Speaker 1: wife and myself and the pilot, and we lived. And 232 00:17:00,040 --> 00:17:04,639 Speaker 1: it was terrible and we got quite a way as 233 00:17:04,680 --> 00:17:07,320 Speaker 1: an icing condition said, and we started pulling ice in 234 00:17:07,440 --> 00:17:11,679 Speaker 1: and I'm playing co pilot, and the pilots said, we've 235 00:17:11,680 --> 00:17:13,320 Speaker 1: got to go down. And I said, you're right, And 236 00:17:13,359 --> 00:17:17,000 Speaker 1: I thought, ugly, you can't see anything wings or iceing up, 237 00:17:17,160 --> 00:17:19,040 Speaker 1: and you started down. We started down, sort of a 238 00:17:19,080 --> 00:17:22,800 Speaker 1: gradual approach, and we finally broke out out of the 239 00:17:23,040 --> 00:17:25,480 Speaker 1: icing conditions, and where you can see, we had followed 240 00:17:25,480 --> 00:17:28,080 Speaker 1: the contour of one of those mountains that comes out 241 00:17:28,080 --> 00:17:31,080 Speaker 1: of the graph down into the area. And that's that's 242 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,680 Speaker 1: what God was taking care of me, because we've been 243 00:17:34,200 --> 00:17:37,480 Speaker 1: two hundred feet or two to two hundred yards uh 244 00:17:37,600 --> 00:17:42,240 Speaker 1: in a different angle, we would not be here today. 245 00:17:44,520 --> 00:17:47,600 Speaker 1: Young's victory in the nineteen seventy three special election had 246 00:17:47,640 --> 00:17:51,600 Speaker 1: a major, long lasting impact on Alaska politics. Many people 247 00:17:51,600 --> 00:17:54,320 Speaker 1: in the state Democrats at least wonder what would have 248 00:17:54,359 --> 00:17:56,800 Speaker 1: happened if Nick Beggett's had lived and Young had never 249 00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:02,320 Speaker 1: been elected. Sierra Beggett Slade, nick granddaughter is one. Had 250 00:18:02,400 --> 00:18:05,040 Speaker 1: he lived, UM, and if this never happened, I think 251 00:18:05,080 --> 00:18:08,720 Speaker 1: that Alaska and our politics would have gone in a 252 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:11,720 Speaker 1: much different direction. I think the fact that Don Young 253 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:15,440 Speaker 1: has been in his position for so long UM has 254 00:18:15,480 --> 00:18:17,400 Speaker 1: taken us down a different path. And I think that 255 00:18:17,520 --> 00:18:20,320 Speaker 1: if my grandfather we're still here today, and if he 256 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:22,960 Speaker 1: would have been able to live that full life, things 257 00:18:22,960 --> 00:18:25,240 Speaker 1: would have been different. And right now we're you know, 258 00:18:25,400 --> 00:18:28,240 Speaker 1: we're in a recession as a state and things are 259 00:18:28,240 --> 00:18:30,920 Speaker 1: looking pretty grim, and maybe that wouldn't be the case 260 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:32,960 Speaker 1: if you were still here. Even though you never met 261 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:37,119 Speaker 1: your grandfather. Do you feel a sense of loss? I do, UM, 262 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:39,640 Speaker 1: just because I feel like we would have had things 263 00:18:39,640 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 1: in common. And I don't necessarily feel that with too 264 00:18:43,280 --> 00:18:46,320 Speaker 1: many relatives, UM, But just from what I know about him, 265 00:18:46,320 --> 00:18:49,560 Speaker 1: it seems that he he had such a genuine heart. 266 00:18:50,200 --> 00:18:52,600 Speaker 1: Did you ever hear any personal stories about your grandfather 267 00:18:52,920 --> 00:18:57,879 Speaker 1: that you can share, any anecdotes? Nothing? Honestly, growing up, 268 00:18:57,920 --> 00:19:02,480 Speaker 1: we didn't talk much about what happened the disappearance about 269 00:19:02,480 --> 00:19:05,920 Speaker 1: my grandfather in general, I don't know much about him 270 00:19:05,920 --> 00:19:09,280 Speaker 1: other than what I've heard from the community. So yeah, 271 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:12,160 Speaker 1: hearing the details of that, hopefully through this podcast, will 272 00:19:12,200 --> 00:19:15,520 Speaker 1: be pretty interesting. And how do you think that the 273 00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,200 Speaker 1: loss of your grandfather affected the family as a whole. 274 00:19:19,480 --> 00:19:22,000 Speaker 1: It's hard to say, because we really didn't talk much 275 00:19:22,040 --> 00:19:24,240 Speaker 1: about it. I don't know. I think that it would 276 00:19:24,240 --> 00:19:27,680 Speaker 1: be a different situation if he were still here. Imagining 277 00:19:28,160 --> 00:19:31,600 Speaker 1: his children, I think that they had a hard time 278 00:19:31,640 --> 00:19:34,240 Speaker 1: with his loss obviously. I think that it has affected 279 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:39,240 Speaker 1: generations to come as far as emotional stability. But there 280 00:19:39,320 --> 00:19:41,080 Speaker 1: is a positive light to it too. And I think 281 00:19:41,119 --> 00:19:44,160 Speaker 1: that a lot of his kids have been so involved 282 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:46,800 Speaker 1: in politics because they felt like they needed to because 283 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:50,720 Speaker 1: he missed out on the opportunity to really finish that out. Um. 284 00:19:50,800 --> 00:19:52,320 Speaker 1: So I think it's driven a lot of us to 285 00:19:53,000 --> 00:20:01,240 Speaker 1: pursue more in his name. Down in Asiana. That same 286 00:20:01,320 --> 00:20:04,440 Speaker 1: sense of civic engagement persisted in the Boggs family too. 287 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:08,800 Speaker 1: In nineteen seventy three, like Peggy Baggage, Lynda Boggs sought 288 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:11,800 Speaker 1: the Democratic nomination to run in a special election to 289 00:20:11,840 --> 00:20:15,800 Speaker 1: fill her husband's empty seat. Mrs Lynda Boggs, wide of 290 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:19,520 Speaker 1: the late Louisiana Congressman, won the Democratic nomination to succeed him. 291 00:20:19,560 --> 00:20:21,680 Speaker 1: She got three times as many votes as are four 292 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:25,320 Speaker 1: competitors altogether, and Mrs Boggs will face Republican Robert E. 293 00:20:25,480 --> 00:20:29,679 Speaker 1: Lee in a general election on March. Lindy went on 294 00:20:29,760 --> 00:20:32,879 Speaker 1: to crush Lee by thirty two thousand votes, making history. 295 00:20:32,960 --> 00:20:36,280 Speaker 1: Is the first woman elected to Congress from Louisiana. She 296 00:20:36,320 --> 00:20:39,120 Speaker 1: would serve nine terms in the House and later as 297 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:43,439 Speaker 1: the US Ambassador to the Vatican. She died at the 298 00:20:43,480 --> 00:21:12,640 Speaker 1: age of so up to this point, I've spent most 299 00:21:12,680 --> 00:21:15,400 Speaker 1: of my time talking about the Congressman, but there were 300 00:21:15,400 --> 00:21:18,960 Speaker 1: two other men who disappeared too. One was Baggage Aid 301 00:21:19,080 --> 00:21:23,240 Speaker 1: Russ Brown, a Nebraska native who studied anthropology and chemistry 302 00:21:23,480 --> 00:21:27,440 Speaker 1: before moving to Ketchikan, Alaska, seven where he met his wife, 303 00:21:27,480 --> 00:21:30,040 Speaker 1: Penny and became a stepfather to her kids from a 304 00:21:30,119 --> 00:21:34,480 Speaker 1: previous marriage in nineteen seventy two, only three months before 305 00:21:34,480 --> 00:21:37,280 Speaker 1: he vanished. Russ and Penny had a daughter of their own, 306 00:21:37,640 --> 00:21:42,000 Speaker 1: Marine Nicole. Other than that, I don't know much about him. 307 00:21:42,000 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 1: My attempts to contact his family were unsuccessful. I saved 308 00:21:52,760 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 1: Don John's the pilot, for last, because he's a very 309 00:21:55,840 --> 00:21:58,840 Speaker 1: important character in this story, the man many blame for 310 00:21:58,880 --> 00:22:04,000 Speaker 1: the planes disappearing. John's was an extremely experienced, incompetent pilot. 311 00:22:04,480 --> 00:22:07,000 Speaker 1: By the time he vanished, he had accumulated more than 312 00:22:07,040 --> 00:22:11,280 Speaker 1: seventeen thousand hours of flight time. No pilot last seventeen 313 00:22:11,359 --> 00:22:14,920 Speaker 1: thousand hours flying small planes and brutal conditions in the 314 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:19,680 Speaker 1: Alaska interior unless they're talented. If you're wondering about his name, yes, 315 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:24,399 Speaker 1: John's j O. N Z was originally Jones. He changed 316 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:26,800 Speaker 1: it to John's because there was already a pilot in 317 00:22:26,840 --> 00:22:31,040 Speaker 1: Fairbanks named Don Jones, and he wanted something unique. John's 318 00:22:31,080 --> 00:22:34,240 Speaker 1: was a blonde, blue eyed ladies man, an army veteran 319 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:37,240 Speaker 1: of the Korean War, and a self styled intellectual with 320 00:22:37,280 --> 00:22:40,320 Speaker 1: a rise sense of humor and a daredevil streak. He 321 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:44,440 Speaker 1: did have it a masculine quality to him very much, 322 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:50,040 Speaker 1: so he wasn't a very very attractive person. Effectually had 323 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:53,480 Speaker 1: a bit of a hook knows, but he certainly had 324 00:22:53,480 --> 00:22:56,520 Speaker 1: a lot of Christmas and charm and was attractive enough. 325 00:22:57,320 --> 00:23:01,120 Speaker 1: That's Mike Gravel, a former U. S Senator represented Alaska 326 00:23:01,240 --> 00:23:04,800 Speaker 1: from nineteen sixty nine to one. He knew and often 327 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:09,680 Speaker 1: flew with John's. He had flown near around repeatedly. Uh 328 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:13,280 Speaker 1: and was you know, was active with political figures in 329 00:23:13,359 --> 00:23:18,640 Speaker 1: the state, helping them get around. Uh and uh and 330 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,720 Speaker 1: so that's as much as I can recall about him. 331 00:23:22,880 --> 00:23:25,119 Speaker 1: He was a very very nice guy and a very 332 00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:31,359 Speaker 1: competent pilot. Johnson was also a bibliophile who in nineteen 333 00:23:31,359 --> 00:23:34,800 Speaker 1: fifty six, after moving to Fairbanks, joined the Flying Poets, 334 00:23:35,040 --> 00:23:37,280 Speaker 1: a group of pilots who flew around the state sharing 335 00:23:37,320 --> 00:23:41,040 Speaker 1: poetry with school kids in remote villages. Around that time, 336 00:23:41,119 --> 00:23:44,840 Speaker 1: he also got married, then soon after divorced. In the 337 00:23:44,920 --> 00:23:47,760 Speaker 1: late fifties, he traveled to the UK, where he tried 338 00:23:47,800 --> 00:23:51,280 Speaker 1: several times to swim twenty one miles across the English Channel. 339 00:23:51,840 --> 00:23:55,879 Speaker 1: He was unsuccessful. Deflated and in need of money, he 340 00:23:55,960 --> 00:23:59,000 Speaker 1: shuffled around Europe for a while, working for a series 341 00:23:59,040 --> 00:24:02,040 Speaker 1: of airlines and looting one in Luxembourg. That's where he 342 00:24:02,080 --> 00:24:05,679 Speaker 1: met his second wife, Willie. He was an extroverted person. 343 00:24:05,800 --> 00:24:10,640 Speaker 1: He liked to be around people. He also liked periods 344 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,480 Speaker 1: where he could be alone. You know. He used to 345 00:24:14,520 --> 00:24:19,600 Speaker 1: write a lot, but you know, I didn't keep any 346 00:24:19,680 --> 00:24:24,520 Speaker 1: of of the writings. Did he keep a journal or diary? Yeah? 347 00:24:24,560 --> 00:24:28,159 Speaker 1: He did. You don't still have that to you know? 348 00:24:28,280 --> 00:24:31,359 Speaker 1: I don't. Do you know if your son does? By chance? 349 00:24:32,320 --> 00:24:33,919 Speaker 1: Do you know if your son still has it or 350 00:24:33,960 --> 00:24:37,240 Speaker 1: do it? Was it lost? That was lost? And I 351 00:24:37,320 --> 00:24:40,960 Speaker 1: think that was just just throw in a way after 352 00:24:41,080 --> 00:24:45,480 Speaker 1: he disappeared. As a journalist, you're not supposed to get 353 00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,959 Speaker 1: attached to sources. You're supposed to be cold and objective. 354 00:24:49,520 --> 00:24:51,920 Speaker 1: But I've never really believed that. I think you can 355 00:24:51,920 --> 00:24:54,880 Speaker 1: be fair and tell the truth without morphing into an emotional, 356 00:24:54,960 --> 00:24:59,199 Speaker 1: less automated scribe. Journalists have opinions, and to admit that 357 00:24:59,240 --> 00:25:02,040 Speaker 1: doesn't mean every thing we do is fake news. It 358 00:25:02,080 --> 00:25:05,520 Speaker 1: means we're human, so I'll admit it. I like Willie 359 00:25:05,640 --> 00:25:08,760 Speaker 1: a lot. She reminds me of my grandma. They're actually 360 00:25:08,760 --> 00:25:11,960 Speaker 1: the same age, and like my grandma, she's an immigrant 361 00:25:12,000 --> 00:25:15,560 Speaker 1: with fascinating stories. Willie told me not only of Alaska, 362 00:25:15,880 --> 00:25:18,399 Speaker 1: but about watching Nazis marched down her street when they 363 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,760 Speaker 1: invaded Holland in nineteen. By the end of World War Two, 364 00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:25,080 Speaker 1: she said her family was so hungry they ate tulip bulbs. 365 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:29,120 Speaker 1: Willie and Donn had one child, a son, Aaron, who 366 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:32,639 Speaker 1: was only ten when Don vanished. Don's death had a 367 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:36,200 Speaker 1: horrible impact on him. Willie said, he's got his own 368 00:25:36,600 --> 00:25:42,080 Speaker 1: problems and uh, trying to keep his head of earth water. 369 00:25:42,880 --> 00:25:48,680 Speaker 1: And he's he's a lot like his dad in a way. Um, 370 00:25:48,840 --> 00:25:51,560 Speaker 1: she's a good She had just fifty on his shold. 371 00:25:51,680 --> 00:25:58,560 Speaker 1: But he's a good you know, um morally, and he'll 372 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:02,000 Speaker 1: give anybody to share him is back but saying Tobe, 373 00:26:02,080 --> 00:26:07,600 Speaker 1: and he has always had a hard time living in society. 374 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,640 Speaker 1: He just doesn't take any ship of anybody. Has put 375 00:26:11,680 --> 00:26:14,800 Speaker 1: it thataway, you know, So why used him a hard time? 376 00:26:15,040 --> 00:26:22,080 Speaker 1: He hasn't cower and h they don't like that. But 377 00:26:22,840 --> 00:26:25,240 Speaker 1: that's the same thing Mrs Dad, you know, and Dad 378 00:26:25,280 --> 00:26:29,800 Speaker 1: just tell them where to put it. I first interviewed 379 00:26:29,800 --> 00:26:33,959 Speaker 1: Willie by phone, then visited her at her home in Colorado, 380 00:26:34,080 --> 00:26:37,240 Speaker 1: where we spoke for several hours. In the aftermath of 381 00:26:37,280 --> 00:26:40,920 Speaker 1: Don's disappearance, she said, not only did officials refuse to 382 00:26:40,920 --> 00:26:44,520 Speaker 1: share information with her, likely because she was Don's ex wife, 383 00:26:44,680 --> 00:26:46,959 Speaker 1: even though she was still the mother of his only child, 384 00:26:47,359 --> 00:26:50,639 Speaker 1: but most people also blamed Don for the disappearance itself. 385 00:26:51,440 --> 00:26:54,240 Speaker 1: They still do. There are a few reasons for this. 386 00:26:55,280 --> 00:26:59,280 Speaker 1: First and foremost, in October ninety two, the month he vanished, 387 00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:03,400 Speaker 1: Don had authored a controversial article for Flying Magazine titled 388 00:27:03,440 --> 00:27:07,480 Speaker 1: Ice without Fear. In it, he wrote quote, playing with 389 00:27:07,560 --> 00:27:10,680 Speaker 1: ice is like playing with the devil. Fun but don't 390 00:27:10,680 --> 00:27:14,760 Speaker 1: play unless you can cheat. Willie said he was being sarcastic, 391 00:27:14,880 --> 00:27:18,680 Speaker 1: that people didn't get his humor. He took risks, she said, 392 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:21,359 Speaker 1: but only when he was flying alone, not when he 393 00:27:21,400 --> 00:27:26,080 Speaker 1: had passengers. Read the article closely beyond the sensational quotes, 394 00:27:26,400 --> 00:27:29,639 Speaker 1: and you'll see that, yes, Don was arrogant, but he 395 00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:33,720 Speaker 1: also recognized ice to be a formidable, powerful enemy. The 396 00:27:33,800 --> 00:27:36,960 Speaker 1: weight of ice is not what debilitates, he wrote, It's 397 00:27:37,000 --> 00:27:41,040 Speaker 1: the shape. Twenty strategically placed pounds of ice will sink 398 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:45,119 Speaker 1: a good light Twin the day he disappeared, he flew 399 00:27:45,160 --> 00:27:53,080 Speaker 1: a light twin assessment three tennessee. There are at least 400 00:27:53,080 --> 00:27:56,959 Speaker 1: two other things that cast shade on Don too. First, 401 00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:00,000 Speaker 1: it's unclear whether or not he actually had an Emergency 402 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:03,239 Speaker 1: Locator transmitter or e l T on board with him 403 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,399 Speaker 1: when he vanished. In his final transmission, he said he 404 00:28:06,440 --> 00:28:11,320 Speaker 1: did but the National Transportation Safety Board disputed that. Second, 405 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:15,440 Speaker 1: the NTSP criticized John's for flying under visual flight Rules 406 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:18,960 Speaker 1: or VFR, saying the weather wasn't conducive for a fly 407 00:28:19,080 --> 00:28:23,440 Speaker 1: by I flight. Multiple pilots I interviewed agreed saying instrument 408 00:28:23,520 --> 00:28:26,120 Speaker 1: flight rules or i f R would have been preferable. 409 00:28:27,400 --> 00:28:30,119 Speaker 1: So between the article, the e l T confusion, and 410 00:28:30,160 --> 00:28:33,359 Speaker 1: the VFR flight plan, I get it, but I also 411 00:28:33,440 --> 00:28:36,960 Speaker 1: think absent records showing what happened, it's unfair to pin 412 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:40,640 Speaker 1: all the blame on John's. It's unclear, for one, how 413 00:28:40,720 --> 00:28:44,280 Speaker 1: much of a role passenger pressure played. Several people told 414 00:28:44,320 --> 00:28:46,400 Speaker 1: me that the Congressman pushed John's to make the flight 415 00:28:46,560 --> 00:28:49,320 Speaker 1: despite the turbulent weather. They were in a rush to 416 00:28:49,360 --> 00:28:53,160 Speaker 1: get to Juno then back to d C regardless. As 417 00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:56,440 Speaker 1: the pilot, it was John's responsibility to say no if 418 00:28:56,440 --> 00:29:05,120 Speaker 1: he thought conditions were too poor. So then what happened? 419 00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:09,840 Speaker 1: It seems simple, right, throwing a cocky pilot and bad weather, 420 00:29:10,080 --> 00:29:13,800 Speaker 1: and voila, the plane iced up and crashed, probably into 421 00:29:13,800 --> 00:29:18,760 Speaker 1: Prince William's sound Acam's razor case solved. It makes sense 422 00:29:19,760 --> 00:29:23,200 Speaker 1: past ice one other explanation. Theoretically could be that the 423 00:29:23,200 --> 00:29:27,400 Speaker 1: plane suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure, but per my research, 424 00:29:27,600 --> 00:29:31,640 Speaker 1: that seems unlikely. Phil hewith a mechanic who worked for John's, 425 00:29:31,800 --> 00:29:34,840 Speaker 1: finished an exhaustive hundred hour inspection of the plane the 426 00:29:34,920 --> 00:29:38,280 Speaker 1: day before it disappeared. Typically, how long would a hundred 427 00:29:38,280 --> 00:29:40,560 Speaker 1: hour and inspection take? Like, how long did it take 428 00:29:40,600 --> 00:29:43,640 Speaker 1: you to inspect the plane before right before it disappeared? 429 00:29:45,360 --> 00:29:48,680 Speaker 1: Sometimes it would take me two to three days to 430 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:51,880 Speaker 1: do that and readon. I say that because you've got 431 00:29:51,880 --> 00:29:54,920 Speaker 1: to pull all the inspection covers off, look in there, 432 00:29:55,440 --> 00:29:58,560 Speaker 1: and some of them holes are pretty tight. You're using 433 00:29:58,600 --> 00:30:01,240 Speaker 1: a mirror and the flash Like you get a change 434 00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:03,520 Speaker 1: your oil, you get a tear to take the spark 435 00:30:03,600 --> 00:30:08,400 Speaker 1: plugs out, clean them and test them, make sure they 436 00:30:08,400 --> 00:30:13,480 Speaker 1: function and put everything back. Change the oil in the 437 00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:16,960 Speaker 1: stuff on it, check the props, clean the prop up 438 00:30:17,160 --> 00:30:21,000 Speaker 1: for you know, if it has any knicks, looking for 439 00:30:21,520 --> 00:30:26,200 Speaker 1: obvious stuff that's visible. I mean it varies. It's kind 440 00:30:26,200 --> 00:30:31,160 Speaker 1: of like vehicle. You know, some of the model TS 441 00:30:31,320 --> 00:30:33,960 Speaker 1: model as they were easy to work on, easy to 442 00:30:34,040 --> 00:30:39,240 Speaker 1: change and so on, change and check spark plugs. Well, 443 00:30:39,320 --> 00:30:43,800 Speaker 1: you take engines nowadays in the vehicles the open the hood, 444 00:30:43,840 --> 00:30:47,320 Speaker 1: you can't even see it. It's covered with stuff. So 445 00:30:48,480 --> 00:30:53,040 Speaker 1: airplanes are no different. Right after he finished the inspection, 446 00:30:53,160 --> 00:30:56,320 Speaker 1: and I mean immediately after John's flew the plane from 447 00:30:56,320 --> 00:31:00,280 Speaker 1: Fairbanks Anchorage. If there was some horrible mechanical problem him, 448 00:31:00,280 --> 00:31:03,400 Speaker 1: it probably would have shown up during this fight. Nevertheless, 449 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:07,920 Speaker 1: he was repeatedly interrogated by authorities, desperate franswers. He had 450 00:31:07,960 --> 00:31:11,200 Speaker 1: none to give. They just wouldn't leave it alone because 451 00:31:11,440 --> 00:31:17,160 Speaker 1: they couldn't find anybody. Two blame it on because they 452 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:21,240 Speaker 1: didn't know. They couldn't. They said they couldn't find the airplane, 453 00:31:21,320 --> 00:31:25,280 Speaker 1: so they couldn't prove what it was, pilot air, mechanical air, 454 00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:33,360 Speaker 1: and putting me in court only implied that it was 455 00:31:33,400 --> 00:31:37,520 Speaker 1: a mechanical air on my part, and they needed somebody 456 00:31:37,560 --> 00:31:44,400 Speaker 1: to get tripped up and say stuff that would incriminate him, 457 00:31:44,480 --> 00:31:49,520 Speaker 1: and they couldn't do it because first of all, I 458 00:31:49,640 --> 00:31:53,120 Speaker 1: knew I did everything right. I would have a free 459 00:31:53,160 --> 00:31:59,200 Speaker 1: conscience of it, including today. So you know, no, I'll 460 00:31:59,200 --> 00:32:01,680 Speaker 1: tell you the same story. You know, he asked me 461 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:07,680 Speaker 1: over and over different questions. And if you don't tell 462 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:12,480 Speaker 1: the truth, you have to remember, and you know It's 463 00:32:12,520 --> 00:32:16,920 Speaker 1: been two years back and I still remember it. So 464 00:32:17,400 --> 00:32:24,040 Speaker 1: I did tell the truth. So then again, what happened? 465 00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:29,680 Speaker 1: Why did the plane disappear? Mechanical failure, pilot error, bad weather, 466 00:32:30,160 --> 00:32:34,920 Speaker 1: any are possible. All are possible. But sometimes when an 467 00:32:34,960 --> 00:32:38,720 Speaker 1: answer seems obvious, when you rely too heavily on Acams Razer, 468 00:32:39,160 --> 00:32:43,560 Speaker 1: you overlook other explanations, explanations that may seem far fetched 469 00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:47,440 Speaker 1: but are possible. You hear something crazy and you immediately 470 00:32:47,480 --> 00:32:55,160 Speaker 1: discount it, even when you shouldn't. And this is where 471 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:58,920 Speaker 1: the story takes a dramatic turn, because up until this point, 472 00:32:59,000 --> 00:33:01,920 Speaker 1: I've had to set the scene, to share exposition and 473 00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:06,840 Speaker 1: biographies and technical details. All of this is important, but 474 00:33:06,920 --> 00:33:09,640 Speaker 1: it's not what kept me going. It's not why I'm 475 00:33:09,640 --> 00:33:13,560 Speaker 1: talking to you today. See, just when I was about 476 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:16,840 Speaker 1: to give up to move on to another story, someone 477 00:33:16,880 --> 00:33:20,880 Speaker 1: told me something so startling I didn't believe them at first. 478 00:33:22,240 --> 00:33:25,840 Speaker 1: Only seventeen months after the plane disappeared, they said, the 479 00:33:25,880 --> 00:33:28,600 Speaker 1: widow of one of the missing men married a murderer, 480 00:33:29,480 --> 00:33:33,440 Speaker 1: a man with mafia ties, a man who had experienced 481 00:33:33,440 --> 00:33:38,120 Speaker 1: with explosives, and this man told the FBI the missing 482 00:33:38,120 --> 00:33:44,360 Speaker 1: plane had been bombed. Next time on Missing in Alaska. 483 00:33:47,400 --> 00:33:51,200 Speaker 1: So we sat there and we just kept making notes 484 00:33:51,240 --> 00:33:54,400 Speaker 1: and watching all the activities and the pictures being taken, 485 00:33:55,240 --> 00:34:07,160 Speaker 1: and boom, it's noted that Jerry married Peggy. Before I 486 00:34:07,200 --> 00:34:09,640 Speaker 1: ask again for your help, I want to thank everyone 487 00:34:09,680 --> 00:34:13,280 Speaker 1: who called in and submitted information online after last week's episode. 488 00:34:13,680 --> 00:34:17,799 Speaker 1: We're reviewing everything and appreciate your support. This week, I 489 00:34:17,840 --> 00:34:21,640 Speaker 1: only have one task for you. Sometime between nineteen seventy 490 00:34:21,680 --> 00:34:25,040 Speaker 1: and seventy two, Don John's, the Missing Pilot, gave an 491 00:34:25,040 --> 00:34:28,160 Speaker 1: interview to an Alaska radio station. I don't know which 492 00:34:28,200 --> 00:34:30,719 Speaker 1: station or in which city, but I guess one in 493 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:34,120 Speaker 1: Fairbanks or maybe Anchorage. If you track it down, let 494 00:34:34,160 --> 00:34:36,719 Speaker 1: me know. I've never heard his voice and I want 495 00:34:36,719 --> 00:34:39,600 Speaker 1: to see what he said. You can reach us by 496 00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:42,920 Speaker 1: phone at one eight three three m I A tips. 497 00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:47,239 Speaker 1: That's one eight three three six four two eight four 498 00:34:47,480 --> 00:34:52,360 Speaker 1: seven seven again one eight three three six four two 499 00:34:52,719 --> 00:34:55,719 Speaker 1: eight four seven seven, or you can reach us via 500 00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:59,959 Speaker 1: email at tips at iHeart media dot com. That's tip 501 00:35:00,480 --> 00:35:04,719 Speaker 1: T I p s at I heeart Media dot com. 502 00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:07,680 Speaker 1: Ben Bolan is our executive producer. Paul Decan is our 503 00:35:07,719 --> 00:35:11,960 Speaker 1: supervising producer. Chris Brown is our assistant producer, Seth Nicholas 504 00:35:12,040 --> 00:35:15,799 Speaker 1: Johnson is our producer. Sam T. Garden is our research assistant. 505 00:35:16,120 --> 00:35:19,560 Speaker 1: And I'm your host and executive producer, John Wallzac. You 506 00:35:19,560 --> 00:35:22,120 Speaker 1: can find me on Twitter at at john Wallzac j 507 00:35:22,320 --> 00:35:26,640 Speaker 1: O n w A l c z a K. Footage 508 00:35:26,640 --> 00:35:29,840 Speaker 1: for this episode was provided by NBC k qu f 509 00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:33,640 Speaker 1: D and the Vanderbilt Television News Archive special thanks to 510 00:35:33,640 --> 00:35:36,680 Speaker 1: the Alaska Film Archives at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. 511 00:35:37,280 --> 00:35:40,000 Speaker 1: Missing in Alaska is a co production of iHeart Media 512 00:35:40,160 --> 00:35:42,280 Speaker 1: and Greenford Media.