The St. Helens Pilot

[Guest]

TR,

Thank You for posting what you know, along with your email exchanges with Bobbie. To me, this makes an already interesting story.. even more interesting.

Finding the burial pit with the bones (if they are there ) , would be a great discovery.. but that will probably never happen. At the time of this disaster and mass cleanup, it could have been whoever was in charge of the evac and disposal mission.. that just made the call themselves, and not dealt with these findings, just burying them as animal bodies. There also could have been more done with the bodies, through orders from the higher ups. The pilot would not have known much (besides seeing the bodies) about this, after completing his part of the mission...which was to fly the chopper. The personnel on the ground, at the end of the line.. probably have more stories to tell.

[bipedalist]

Thanks for the details behind the "story" TR. I have a great deal of respect for Bobbie Short and it sounds like you all may be talking about the same pilot, your late uncle. I think that an FOIA request would be difficult to cash-in on this case. It might be that the state level of detail you might find in that approach could eventually lead to the higher up or Federal organizations but I would think that would be the only way to give you enough leads to get close. Sort of like a Project Bluebook and Majestic sense of odds I'd say. Would make a great investigative journalism piece for sure.

Edited September 30, 2010 by bipedalist

[Guest nycBig]

just to play devil's advocate the witness only saw charred arms, could they have been human?, and the order to keep quiet was due to the way these human bodies were being transported.

[Guest]

Thanks TR. Uh... ummm... I was just kidding about washing your car with my tongue and uh, mowing your lawn with my teeth.

[Guest Fanofsquatch]

I wonder what info can be found using the FOIA, are flight logs and things of that nature kept that long? I know my father kept every one of his books personally so he has record of every hour of every mission/flight in every aircraft so out there somewhere is someone who knows the final destination of the bodies. I would imagine they were studied and stored never to be seen again. I know that the National Guard played a huge roll in the recovery and I know that there was an extensive timber survey conducted to try to determine the amount of devastation and the reforestation plan so I absolutely believe that a wildlife survey/recovery took place. My only hang ups are the conditions after the event and most of the area being buried deep in ash would make spotting and recovering dead animals difficult.

[Incorrigible1]

Contemplating this thread and story, I wonder if subsequent natural disasters have brought the authorities to gather up dead animals to dispose their carcasses in pits? Mt. St. Helens might have more large wildlife bodies than many locations, but has the same mass burial ever occurred with livestock and other large animals?

Again, just wondering out loud.

[Guest Blackdog]

I was not sure of this story for awhile, I wondered why he had not told me this himself and finally it was revealed that he could not tell anyone because he was given an order not to say anything, ya see he was a lifer in the Military and would lose his pension if he said anything, thus breaking a direct order of silence…

He wasn't worried about his pension and his direct order of silence when he allegedly told Bobbie Short (and whoever else was with her) and his nephew.

Where can a person find Bobbie Short's account of the helicopter lift? All I can find is a short "she said" story recounted on a few websites. Is there a direct account from Bobbie?

[Guest]

BD, the site that told this story is no longer running. I saved this one years ago and just checked to find it was gone.

[Guest Spazmo]

I wonder what info can be found using the FOIA, are flight logs and things of that nature kept that long? I know my father kept every one of his books personally so he has record of every hour of every mission/flight in every aircraft so out there somewhere is someone who knows the final destination of the bodies. I would imagine they were studied and stored never to be seen again. I know that the National Guard played a huge roll in the recovery and I know that there was an extensive timber survey conducted to try to determine the amount of devastation and the reforestation plan so I absolutely believe that a wildlife survey/recovery took place. My only hang ups are the conditions after the event and most of the area being buried deep in ash would make spotting and recovering dead animals difficult.

Flight logs would be a good place to start. All pilots (or all reliable pilots) keep detailed logs of each and every flight made. The sticky point, however, is that those log books are commonly the private property of the pilot and may not be subject to an FOI request. However, there is a very strong chance that his logbooks are stored in his personal effects somewhere, and that there is a separate set of logbooks on file with the Nat'l Guard (which may be obtainable via FOI). Logbooks are not something that would be disposed of or lost while he was alive, and hopefully the relatives knew their importance and still have them. His personal logbooks could also include details not in the NG versions (if these versions exist).

But, the logbooks likely won't say anything about the contents of the payload. They show the details of the flight (usually), including time, date, duration, weather, purpose of flight, etc. They may be able to provide evidence that flights were made on the dates and times described, and in the location described. It's not proof of the story, but it will go a long way towards validating the account of the flight(s).

FYI, this is an area where I have direct experience, I'm not talking out of anything but my mouth here...

[indiefoot]

I'd start with a list of people he served with, then get on the phone and go after independant confirmation of the story. The pilots probably talked among themselves and one of them might talk. Ground crews are also a possibility.

[Guest]

He wasn't worried about his pension and his direct order of silence when he allegedly told Bobbie Short (and whoever else was with her) and his nephew.

Maybe he spoke in pig latin.

[Guest Spazmo]

He wasn't worried about his pension and his direct order of silence when he allegedly told Bobbie Short (and whoever else was with her) and his nephew.

I thought of this as well, it's a good point. It brings up more than a few questions, such as "when did he know he had cancer, and when did he relate his account?" I'm speculating that it might have been plausible that he related the account when he felt he had nothing to lose, if the timeframe matches in some way.

And I'm also speculating that telling a BF enthusiast would be less risky than telling "John Q. Public", because (more speculation) not many people would believe the BF enthusiast anyway.

Just my speculative 2 cents...

[Guest nycBig]

Important whether the witness believed in Bigfoot prior to the report. Also, in his story no one actual tells him they are creatures he just makes that assumption upon seaing what he thought were arms. Could the arms have been bear forelegs with the fir burnt off?

[Guest Blackdog]

I thought of this as well, it's a good point. It brings up more than a few questions, such as "when did he know he had cancer, and when did he relate his account?" I'm speculating that it might have been plausible that he related the account when he felt he had nothing to lose, if the timeframe matches in some way.

And I'm also speculating that telling a BF enthusiast would be less risky than telling "John Q. Public", because (more speculation) not many people would believe the BF enthusiast anyway.

Just my speculative 2 cents...

Speculation is fine unless it supplies answers to the folks that should be answering the questions.

No offense spaz...

[Guest Spazmo]

None taken, and another good point I've struggled with off and on for a while.