I am happy to credit John W. Spencer (who just joined this 1961 class web site) as the original and sole source of my information about D. B. Cooper. We were in a barber shop years ago and John recognized that we both went to Broughton. John told me about the "Discovery" or other cable channel alleging that Richard McCoy was D.B. Cooper. I have since seen that program. It is as close to knowing someone famous as I will ever come - and I mean Richard. Many thanks to John. Welcome!
I was blown away when I saw this...I recall Richard McCoy well...we were friends. Yes, I ran with a bad crowd at Broughton - I once was suspended by Joe Q for smoking on campus - and it was only tobacco! Can't even remember who were the others who were with me. Alas, I digress...
But I don't remember Richard as a badass dude or someone with such ambitions (I can recall a couple of our classmates who no doubt became career criminals)! No doubt there is a great story to be told here about McCoy's youth. Who else knew him? Is there an interesting and unique class project here...like an oral history on Richard McCoy as D.B. Cooper (or at least as a hijacker who unlike Cooper succeeded in jumping out of the rear of the plane and hanging on to the money)?
Here's a book that concludes McCoy was indeed D.B. Cooper.
Here's a video that gives an overview of the whole case:
I also knew Richard. Richard was the last one I would have picked to go off the deep end with a stunt like he did. My Mom sent me the N&O story about richard when he was caught for jumping from the 727 over Salt Lake City. Regardless of wheather he was DB Cooper, which by the way, I believe he probably was, Richard was the first highjacker to go out of a 727 and was it was that incident that caused the airlines to put locks on the rear doors of th 727. The N&O story said Richard was an expert parachute jumper and also a helocopter pilot in the army. An intresting side story, it was said he landed only three miles from his home after jumping at night from the highjacked plane.
Richard sat directly in front of me in Mr. Southwick's band playing the french horn while i played the baritone, so I actually knew him pretty well (I thought).
After escaping from a Federal facility, Richard tried to shoot it out with the FBI in Virginia Beach which did not work out well for him.
I guess that you would call Richard McCoy our most "infamous" class member.
I JUST CAME ACROSS THIS SITE.. DURING JUNE 1972 I SKYJACKED AN AMERICAN AIRLINES AIRCRAFT AND BAILED OUT... WHILE AT U.S. PENITENTIARY, MARION, ILLINOIS, I MET ART WALKER, WHO ESCAPED WITH McCOY FROM U.S. PENITENTIARY, LEWISBURG.. HE TOLD ME ALL ABOUT HOW F.B.I. AGENTS KILLED HIM AS HE RETURNED TO THE HOUSE THEY WERE STAYING AT.. FBI AGENTS SAID McCOY PULLED A GUN... NOT--SO--!!! HE DID--NOT--HAVE A WEAPON.. UNARMED AND SHOT TO DEATH... YOU CAN POST MY STATEMENT.. I DID 37 YEARS IN FEDERAL MAX JOINTS AND WAS RELEASED ON LIFE PAROLE EFFECTIVE JANUARY 2010.. THANKS.. MARTIN MCNALLY, CEO, MCNALLY ENTERPRISES-ST. LOUIS
I too was a friend to Richard. He sat behind me in our homeroom in our sophmore year.
Richards' dad was a retired Marine, saw combat in Korea and according to Richard, was rather stern when he did something not in good standing with "Gunney". (Thats a nick name most Gunnery Sergants get when they obtain that rank).
Richard, his dad and a whole lot of us got our haircuts at Mills Barber Shop next to Amedoes on Western Blvd. I have listened to many a Marine tale when we all happened to be there at the same time.
Richard was not a bad ass,as Neal stated, in fact he was planning to follow dad into the Marines, but got sidetracked and joined the Army. Richard went airborne for sure, and I thought we ran across each other at Bragg while in the Special Forces .Man, was he focused and intense during those times. Can't remember when he went to flight school as we had long went our seperate ways.
I do know he married,and back then Army life for non coms was pretty rough on most marriages. I belive this is what lead him to go off the deep end.
Most likely he was J.B. Cooper, and was trying to make sure his family could make ends meet.I guess he thought that money would help save his marriage.When he bailed out over Utah, he broke his leg and if not for that, I wonder if they would have caught him so quickly.
Mills and I had several conversations after Richard went to prision, and knowing his trainning from SF's, we agreed it was only a matter of time before he would be outside the wire.
I do agree about the so called shoot out. He always stayed in good physical shape, ran several miles in the morning, through his neighborhood. The morning he died, it would seem unlikely he had a weapon on him.Hard the hide even a small pistol in running gear back then. They did find several weapons in the house, and I always heard he had vowed not to be taken alive, so that played well into the story.
As I remember, they had already finished the morning run and was inside the house when the FBI came in.
If anyone knows differently, please let me know. Its just tragic that he did not have a chance to live longer, but I think he was the type that would already be planning his next escape had he lived.He is buried down east either in Dover or Cove City. Peace to all,
Hugh Cox
Richard McCoy, Jr., may be the most famous person in our 1961 Broughton class. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._B._Cooper .
Ann Bennett (Rogers)
The D.B. Cooper article has a link to this one:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_McCoy,_Jr.
Hugh Cox
I am happy to credit John W. Spencer (who just joined this 1961 class web site) as the original and sole source of my information about D. B. Cooper. We were in a barber shop years ago and John recognized that we both went to Broughton. John told me about the "Discovery" or other cable channel alleging that Richard McCoy was D.B. Cooper. I have since seen that program. It is as close to knowing someone famous as I will ever come - and I mean Richard. Many thanks to John. Welcome!
Neal Jackson
I was blown away when I saw this...I recall Richard McCoy well...we were friends. Yes, I ran with a bad crowd at Broughton - I once was suspended by Joe Q for smoking on campus - and it was only tobacco! Can't even remember who were the others who were with me. Alas, I digress...
But I don't remember Richard as a badass dude or someone with such ambitions (I can recall a couple of our classmates who no doubt became career criminals)! No doubt there is a great story to be told here about McCoy's youth. Who else knew him? Is there an interesting and unique class project here...like an oral history on Richard McCoy as D.B. Cooper (or at least as a hijacker who unlike Cooper succeeded in jumping out of the rear of the plane and hanging on to the money)?
Here's a book that concludes McCoy was indeed D.B. Cooper.
Here's a video that gives an overview of the whole case:
Bill Collins
I also knew Richard. Richard was the last one I would have picked to go off the deep end with a stunt like he did. My Mom sent me the N&O story about richard when he was caught for jumping from the 727 over Salt Lake City. Regardless of wheather he was DB Cooper, which by the way, I believe he probably was, Richard was the first highjacker to go out of a 727 and was it was that incident that caused the airlines to put locks on the rear doors of th 727. The N&O story said Richard was an expert parachute jumper and also a helocopter pilot in the army. An intresting side story, it was said he landed only three miles from his home after jumping at night from the highjacked plane.
Richard sat directly in front of me in Mr. Southwick's band playing the french horn while i played the baritone, so I actually knew him pretty well (I thought).
After escaping from a Federal facility, Richard tried to shoot it out with the FBI in Virginia Beach which did not work out well for him.
I guess that you would call Richard McCoy our most "infamous" class member.
Ann Bennett (Rogers)
The Tarheel Traveler just had a clip about McCoy/Cooper this week.
http://www.wral.com/lifestyles/travel/video/10651118/#/vid10651118
Ann Bennett (Rogers)
As website administrator, I just received the following email, and am posting it.
Ann
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I JUST CAME ACROSS THIS SITE.. DURING JUNE 1972 I SKYJACKED AN AMERICAN AIRLINES AIRCRAFT AND BAILED OUT... WHILE AT U.S. PENITENTIARY, MARION, ILLINOIS, I MET ART WALKER, WHO ESCAPED WITH McCOY FROM U.S. PENITENTIARY, LEWISBURG.. HE TOLD ME ALL ABOUT HOW F.B.I. AGENTS KILLED HIM AS HE RETURNED TO THE HOUSE THEY WERE STAYING AT.. FBI AGENTS SAID McCOY PULLED A GUN... NOT--SO--!!! HE DID--NOT--HAVE A WEAPON.. UNARMED AND SHOT TO DEATH... YOU CAN POST MY STATEMENT.. I DID 37 YEARS IN FEDERAL MAX JOINTS AND WAS RELEASED ON LIFE PAROLE EFFECTIVE JANUARY 2010.. THANKS.. MARTIN MCNALLY, CEO, MCNALLY ENTERPRISES-ST. LOUIS
James D. (Cappie) Gower
I too was a friend to Richard. He sat behind me in our homeroom in our sophmore year.
Richards' dad was a retired Marine, saw combat in Korea and according to Richard, was rather stern when he did something not in good standing with "Gunney". (Thats a nick name most Gunnery Sergants get when they obtain that rank).
Richard, his dad and a whole lot of us got our haircuts at Mills Barber Shop next to Amedoes on Western Blvd. I have listened to many a Marine tale when we all happened to be there at the same time.
Richard was not a bad ass,as Neal stated, in fact he was planning to follow dad into the Marines, but got sidetracked and joined the Army. Richard went airborne for sure, and I thought we ran across each other at Bragg while in the Special Forces .Man, was he focused and intense during those times. Can't remember when he went to flight school as we had long went our seperate ways.
I do know he married,and back then Army life for non coms was pretty rough on most marriages. I belive this is what lead him to go off the deep end.
Most likely he was J.B. Cooper, and was trying to make sure his family could make ends meet.I guess he thought that money would help save his marriage.When he bailed out over Utah, he broke his leg and if not for that, I wonder if they would have caught him so quickly.
Mills and I had several conversations after Richard went to prision, and knowing his trainning from SF's, we agreed it was only a matter of time before he would be outside the wire.
I do agree about the so called shoot out. He always stayed in good physical shape, ran several miles in the morning, through his neighborhood. The morning he died, it would seem unlikely he had a weapon on him.Hard the hide even a small pistol in running gear back then. They did find several weapons in the house, and I always heard he had vowed not to be taken alive, so that played well into the story.
As I remember, they had already finished the morning run and was inside the house when the FBI came in.
If anyone knows differently, please let me know. Its just tragic that he did not have a chance to live longer, but I think he was the type that would already be planning his next escape had he lived.He is buried down east either in Dover or Cove City. Peace to all,
Jim