CA Lt Paul Whipkey vanished 1958

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<modsnip - not an approved source>


In 1982 his record was changed to "Killed in Line of Duty"
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The Tucson Citizen 24 May 1983, Tue ·Page 4 (link at Newspapers.com) reports that Lt. Whipkey was assigned to temporary duty as a pilot at Camp Desert Rock, NV, from July to October 1957. It also shows that soon after his Nevada duty, he developed black moles on his body and plantar warts on his hands.He also complained of not feeling well, constant colds and weight loss and that his personality changed, becoming more nervous. According to Army records, several months before he disappeared, at age 25, he had all his teeth removed and was fitted with full dentures.

Whipkey disappeared from Fort Ord, CA, July 10, 1958, after telling fellow officers he was going to get a drink in town. The next day, July 11, he bought 14 gallons of gas in Mojave, CA, about 300 miles away. July 12, his brother phoned Fort Ord and was told officers were finishing a job begun July 11, packing his brother's belongings into 11 wooden crated for shipment home. Five weeks later, his vehicle was found at a secluded location in Death Valley, 150 miles from Mojave. In 1978, his brother said that FBI agents told him they had destroyed field files on the case in December 1977.

The Army listed Lt. Whipkey as AWOL and a deserter for 24 years and then reversed that finding in 1982. The Army Board for Correction of Military Records concluded that he died the day after he disappeared and had occured in the line of duty. They didn't explain how his vehicle ended up in Death Valley five weeks after they said he died on duty.

Whipkey flew observation missions over the nuclear test sites which involved thosands of test subjects. Witnesses say he was questioned by Army intelligence agents during the testing and became nervous and upset which prevented him from flying several observation missions.​

Whipkey said he learned from one FBI document that his brother may have used the alias of Paul B Whipper.

Operation Plumbbob was a series of nuclear tests that were conducted between May 28 and October 7, 1957, at the Nevada Test Site

It's pretty obvious he saw something he shouldn't have and they 'disappeared' him. IMO, of course. I wonder how many other test subjects disappeared during the testing?
This image is a work of a U.S. military or Department of Defense employee, taken or made as part of that person's official duties. As a work of the U.S. federal government, the image is in the public domain in the United States.


Exercise_Desert_Rock_I_(Buster-Jangle_Dog)_001.jpg
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Possibly he suffered radiation poisioning.....
effect on teeth
'...The results of our study do have confirmed the tooth damage induced by radiation. However, there are some limitations with this study ...

radiation-related black dots are an effect of cranial irradiation and may be related to small vessel damage. SWI is a sensitive technique for evaluation of these black dots.
 
Larger memorial image loading...


Paul Byron Whipkey (1932-1958) age 26
1st Lieutenant, U.S. Army
Missing since 11 July 1958
 

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