Ted Braden: Vietnam Commando and D.B. Cooper Suspect

Theodore Burdette Braden Jr. (September 24, 1928 – June 21, 2007) was an American Special Forces commando and master skydiver who served during the Vietnam War. He became a prominent suspect in the D.B. Cooper hijacking case.

Early Life and Education

Braden was born in Ohio. He joined the military at age 16 in 1944, enlisting with the 101st Airborne during World War II.

Career and Achievements

Braden remained in the Army until 1949, rising to the rank of 2nd Lieutenant. In 1954, he joined the Air Force with the intention of becoming a pilot but resigned during pre-flight training that same year. He re-enlisted in the Army in 1958 and joined the Army’s Sport Parachute Club, then known as the Golden Arrows and later as the Golden Knights. He became one of the military’s leading parachutists, representing the Army in international skydiving tournaments with 911 jumps recorded in his military records.

During the 1960s, Braden served as a team leader within MACV-SOG, a classified commando unit of Green Berets conducting unconventional warfare operations in Vietnam. He also taught HALO jumping techniques to members of Project Delta. His service in Vietnam lasted 23 months, during which he conducted classified operations in North and South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia.

In October 1966, Braden led Recon Team Colorado in placing the first successful wiretap in North Vietnamese Army base camps near the western end of the DMZ. The operation used specialized CIA taps with rubber coating to avoid detection. During the same mission, Recon Team Arizona was completely wiped out after being inserted directly on top of an entrenched NVA unit.

In December 1966, Braden deserted his unit in Vietnam and traveled to the Republic of the Congo to serve as a mercenary, but his service there was brief. CIA agents arrested him and brought him back to the United States for court-martial. Despite committing a capital offense by deserting in wartime, he received an honorable discharge and was barred from re-enlisting in exchange for his continued secrecy about MACV-SOG operations.

Notable Events and Milestones

In October 1967, Braden was profiled in Ramparts Magazine by fellow Special Forces veteran and journalist Don Duncan, who described him as someone with a “secret death wish” who “continually places himself in unnecessary danger but always seems to get away with it,” specifically referencing his disregard for military skydiving safety regulations. Duncan also claimed Braden was “continuously involved in shady deals to make money” during his Vietnam service.

Following his 1967 military discharge, details of Braden’s life remained largely unknown. At the time of the D.B. Cooper hijacking, he worked as a truck driver for Consolidated Freightways, headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, near the suspected dropzone of Ariel, Washington. In the early 1970s, the FBI investigated him for allegedly stealing $250,000 in a trucking scam, though he was never charged. In 1980, a Federal grand jury indicted him for driving an 18-wheeler full of stolen goods from Arizona to Massachusetts; the outcome of that case is unknown. In 1982, he was arrested in Pennsylvania for driving a stolen vehicle with fictitious plates and for having no driver’s license. He served time in Federal prison in Pennsylvania during the late 1980s, though the precise crime is undocumented.

Additional Resources

Braden’s life, particularly his military service and later activities, remains partially obscured by the classified nature of MACV-SOG operations. Readers interested in learning more about his role in Vietnam War commando operations, his skydiving career, or his connection to the D.B. Cooper case can find additional information through Wikipedia and other biographical archives dedicated to Vietnam War history and the Cooper investigation.

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