Editing D. B. Cooper (section)

==={{anchor|Ted Braden}}Ted Braden===
{{Main|Ted Braden}}
[[File:TedBBradenMilitaryID.jpg|thumb|Ted B. Braden's military identification card photo]]

Theodore Burdette Braden Jr. (1928–2007) was a Special Forces commando during the [[Vietnam War]], a master skydiver, and a convicted felon. He was believed by many within the Special Forces community, both at the time of the hijacking and during subsequent years, to have been Cooper.<ref name="Beeson">{{cite book |last1=Beeson |first1=Drew |title=Paratrooper of Fortune |date=2020 |publisher=Fort Necessity Press |location=The Woodlands, Texas |isbn=9798657525144 |page=242 |quote="Practically all ex-special forces I know"}}</ref><ref name="Moore">{{cite book |last1=Moore |first1=Stephen L. |title=Uncommon Valor: The Recon Company that Earned Five Medals of Honor and Included America's Most Decorated Green Beret |date=2018 |publisher=Naval Institute Press |location=Annapolis, MD |isbn=9781682473122 |page=33 |edition=1st |quote= "Some of his comrades later heard, and believed, that he was the legendary D.B. Cooper}}</ref> Born in Ohio, Braden first joined the military at the age of 16 in 1944, serving with the [[101st Airborne]] during World War II. He eventually became one of the military's best parachutists, often representing the Army in international skydiving tournaments,<ref name="Flight">{{cite journal |title=Scottish Parachuting |journal=Flight International |date=1962 |volume=82, Part I |quote="A U.S. Army parachutist, Allen Tyre, won the Scottish Open Championships at Perth on September 15. Runner up was Sgt. Ted Braden, also of the U.S. Army"|page=529}}</ref> and his military records list him as having made 911 jumps.{{sfn|Beeson|2020|pp=51}} During the 1960s, Braden was a team leader within the [[Military Assistance Command, Vietnam – Studies and Observations Group]] (MACVSOG), a classified commando unit of [[Green Berets]] which performed unconventional warfare operations during the Vietnam War.{{sfn|Moore|2018|pp=33}} He also served as a military skydiving instructor, teaching [[High-altitude military parachuting|HALO]] jumping techniques to members of [[Project DELTA|Project Delta]].<ref name="Duncan">{{cite journal |last1=Duncan |first1=Don |title=Mercenary Job Wanted |journal=Ramparts Magazine |date=October 1967 |volume=6 |issue=3 |pages=22–23}}</ref> Braden spent 23 months in Vietnam, conducting classified operations within both North and South Vietnam, as well as Laos and Cambodia.{{sfn|Duncan|1967|pp=22}} In December 1966, Braden deserted his unit in Vietnam and made his way to the [[Republic of the Congo|Congo]] to serve as a [[mercenary]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dingeman |first1=James |title=U.S Military Involvement in Southern Africa |date=1977 |publisher=South End Press |location=Boston, MA |isbn=9780896080416 |page=97 |edition=1st}}</ref> but only served there a brief time before being arrested by CIA agents and taken back to the United States for a court-martial. Despite having committed a capital offense by deserting in wartime, Braden was given an honorable discharge and prohibited from re-enlisting in the military in exchange for his continued secrecy about the MACVSOG program.<ref>{{harvnb|Moore|2018|pp=63}}: "Congressional hearings were beginning regarding SOG activities. Seeing Braden as a potential embarrassment, he was offered an honorable discharge in return for swearing not to disclose anything about SOG activities."</ref>

Braden was profiled in the October 1967 issue of [[Ramparts (magazine)|''Ramparts'']] magazine, wherein he was described by fellow Special Forces veteran and journalist [[Donald W. Duncan|Don Duncan]] as being someone with a "secret death wish" who "continually places himself in unnecessary danger but always seems to get away with it", specifically referring to Braden's disregard for military skydiving safety regulations.<ref>{{harvnb|Duncan|1967|pp=22–23}}:"Braden is among those professionals who appear to have a secret death wish, coupled with well-trained instincts for survival. He continually places himself in unnecessary danger but always manages to get away with it". At one time he was forbidden to free-fall for violating safety regulations. The rules state a jumper must pull and be in the saddle before he reaches 2000 feet. Braden makes a habit of waiting until he is well below 1000 feet."</ref> Duncan also claimed that during Braden's time in Vietnam, he was "continuously involved in shady deals to make money".<ref>{{harvnb|Duncan|1967|pp=22–23}}"he 'played the margin' in town as well. He was continuously involved in shady deals to make money.."</ref> After his military discharge in 1967, the details of Braden's life are largely unknown, but at the time of the hijacking he was a truck driver for [[Consolidated Freightways]], which was headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, just across the Columbia River from Portland and not far from the suspected dropzone of Ariel, Washington.{{sfn|Beeson|2020|pp=252}} It is also known that during the early 1970s he was investigated by the FBI for stealing $250,000 during a trucking scam he had allegedly devised, but he was never charged for this supposed crime.{{sfn|Beeson|2020|pp=220}} In 1980, Braden was indicted by a Federal grand jury for driving an 18-wheeler full of stolen goods from Arizona to Massachusetts, but it is unknown whether there was a conviction in that case.<ref>{{cite news |title=Man Indicted in Fish, Meat Thefts |agency=The Boston Herald |date=June 6, 1980}}</ref> Two years later Braden was arrested in Pennsylvania for driving a stolen vehicle with fictitious plates and for having no driver's license.<ref>{{cite news |title=Stolen Car Stopped on Turnpike |agency=Sandusky Register |date=March 4, 1982}}</ref> Braden was eventually sent to Federal prison during the late 1980s, serving time in Pennsylvania, but the precise crime is unknown.{{sfn|Beeson|2020|pp=225}}

Despite his ability as a soldier, he was not well liked personally and was described by a family member as "the perfect combination of high intelligence and criminality".{{sfn|Beeson|2020|pp=9}} From his time working covert operations in Vietnam, he likely would have possessed the then-classified knowledge about the ability and proper specifications for jumping from a 727, perhaps having done it himself on MACVSOG missions. Physically, Braden's military records list him at {{convert|5|ft|8|in|cm|abbr=on}}, which is shorter than the height description of at least {{convert|5|ft|10|in|cm|abbr=on}} given by the two flight attendants, but this military measurement would have been taken in his stocking feet and he may have appeared somewhat taller in shoes. However, he possessed a dark complexion from years of outdoor military service, had short dark hair, a medium athletic build, and was 43 years of age at the time of the hijacking, which are features all in line with the descriptions of Cooper.{{sfn|Beeson|2020|pp=235}}