The Skies Belong to Us: Love and Terror in the Golden Age of Hijacking (43 page)

  
1
on the first ballot:
“Cleaver of Black Panthers Is Nominee of Leftists,”
New York Times
, Aug. 19, 1968.

  
2
win the presidency:
Lee Lockwood,
Conversation with Eldridge Cleaver
(New York: Dell, 1970), 117.

  
3
“innate gift of language”:
David Evanier, “Painting Black Cardboard Figures,”
New Leader
51, no. 7 (March 1968), 23–24.

  
4
“formidably analytic mind”:
Julian Mayfield, “The New Mainstream,”
Nation
, May 13, 1968.

  
5
something from
King Lear:
Eldridge Cleaver,
Soul on Fire
(Waco, Tex.: Word Books, 1978), 93–98.

  
6
“I talk too much”:
Lockwood,
Conversation with Cleaver
, 129.

  
7
another day in prison:
Kathleen Neal Cleaver and Susie Linfield, “The Education of Kathleen Neal Cleaver,”
Transition
77 (1998), 187–88.

  
8
of the presidential vote:
“1968 Presidential General Election Results,”
Dave Leip’s Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections
,
http://uselectionatlas.org/
.

  
9
the Ministry of Interior:
Cleaver,
Soul on Fire
, 142–43.

10
the Reuters story:
Henry Louis Gates, “Cuban Experience: Eldridge Cleaver on Ice,”
Transition
49 (1975), 32–44.

11
nickname for America:
Lockwood,
Conversation with Cleaver
, 54, 67.

12
five-hundred-dollar monthly stipend:
Taki Theodoracopulos, “Visiting with Eldridge Cleaver in the Casbah,”
National Review
, Jul. 21, 1972, 793.

13
fans of Cleaver’s work:
Cleaver,
Soul on Fire
, 143–44.

14
“under their jeeps”:
“Radio Hanoi Broadcasts Seale Talk,”
Reading Eagle
, Sept. 9, 1970.

15
across state lines:
“Former Black Panther Patches Together Purpose in Exile,”
Los Angeles Times
, Jan. 29, 2012.

16
a police informant:
“D. L. Cox, a Leader of Radicals During 1960s, Dies at 74,”
New York Times
, Mar. 13, 2011.

17
refuge in Switzerland:
Telephone conversation between Eldridge Cleaver and Radio KFRC, Feb. 2, 1971, transcript, Eldridge Cleaver Papers, Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley.

18
“black in the sun”:
Cleaver,
Soul on Fire
, 149.

19
“genius command”:
Eldridge Cleaver, “Revolutionary New Year’s Greetings to the 40 Million Heroic Korean People,” n.d., Eldridge Cleaver Papers, Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley.

20
collection of Kim’s speeches:
Kim Il-sung,
Juche! The Speeches and Writings of Kim Il-sung
(New York: Grossman, 1972).

21
“imagine what it costs”:
“The Exiles: Stokely Eased the Way to Kathleen Cleaver,”
Afro-American
(Baltimore, Md.), May 20, 1972.

22
down from Marseilles:
Cleaver,
Soul on Fire
, 152–53.

23
the party’s leadership:
U.S. Senate, Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with Respect to Intelligence Activities,
The FBI’s Covert Action Program to Destroy the Black Panther Party
, Apr. 23, 1976.

24
a half-million dollars:
Eldridge Cleaver to Michael Cetewayo Tabor, Sept. 24, 1972, Eldridge Cleaver Papers, Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley.

25
guiding him to Algiers:
Richard Luker, interview by FBI, Queens, N.Y., Jun. 4, 1972 (obtained through FOIA request).

26
“I can be free”:
“Pilot Says Hijacker Spoke of Freedom,”
Milwaukee Journal
, Jun. 5, 1972.

27
“my own airline someday”:
Luker, FBI interview.

28
each crammed with soldiers:
Ibid.

29
interpreter by his side:
Willie Roger Holder, interview by author, Aug. 2011.

30
back into the cabin:
Luker, FBI interview.

31
settle for nothing less:
Willie Roger Holder,
Eli and the 13th Confession
(unpublished memoir), 176, private collection of Joy Holder.

32
Like a runaway slave:
Ibid., n.p.

33
on the copper wire:
Holder interview.

34
search for additional bombs:
William
Newell, interview by author, Sept. 2010.

35
crew’s excellent service:
Luker, FBI interview.

36
return from Senegal:
Holder interview.

37
Boumédiène’s favorite assassin:
Robert Irwin,
Memoirs of a Dervish: Sufis, Mystics, and the Sixties
(New York: Profile Books, 2011), chap. 3.

38
one of Hidjeb’s aides:
Cleaver to Tabor.

39
white hippie girlfriend:
Ibid.

40
“where’s the bread?”:
Ibid.

41
off to a rocky start:
Holder interview.

42
his phone number:
Cleaver to Tabor.

43
“Nothing at all”:
“Algiers Hijackers Arrive,” Associated Press Television, Jun. 3, 1972,
http://www.aparchive.com/
.

44
disposable-razors box:
“Hijacker Directs Jetliner to Algeria,”
Prescott
(Ariz.)
Courier
, Jun. 4, 1972; Holder,
Eli and 13th Confession
, 171.

45
food since New York:
“Algeria Hijackers Arrive.”

46
the country at once:
Newell interview.

47
the War of Independence:
Holder interview.

48
stressful circumstances:
Holder,
Eli and 13th Confession
, n.p. The two pages that cover the Hotel Aletti casino episode are both marked “+4.”

49
room’s lace curtains:
Ibid.; Holder interview.

  
1
prison for decades:
Elizabeth Olson (formerly Newhouse), interview by author, May 2011.

  
2
hijacker’s hair as blond:
“Skyjack Suspect an All-American Girl,”
Oregonian
(Portland, Ore.), Jun. 6, 1972.

  
3
“something like this”:
“Hijackers in Algiers with $500,000 Ransom,”
World
(Coos Bay, Ore.), Jun. 5, 1972.

  
4
“three years ago”:
“Coos Bay Residents Stunned by Girl’s Role in Hijacking,”
Oregonian
(Portland, Ore.), Jun. 7, 1972.

  
5
pleasures of marijuana:
“Miss Kerkow Recalled as ‘Hippie Type,’ ”
Bulletin
(Bend, Ore.), Jun. 8, 1972.

  
6
“want to be alert”:
“Coos Girl’s Hijack ‘Unbelievable,’ ”
Oregon Journal
, Jun. 6, 1972.

  
7
“enough to be a hijacker”:
“Coos Bay Residents Stunned by Girl’s Role in Hijacking.”

  
8
“crazy son would do”:
Rosemarie Wilson, interview by author, Apr. 2012.

  
9
hijackers’ political agenda:
Seavenes and Marie Holder, interview by FBI, San Diego, Jun. 3, 1972 (obtained through FOIA request).

10
knew Holder from Vietnam:
“D. B. Cooper Case Inspired Copycat Hijackings in Reno,”
Reno
(Nev.)
Gazette-Journal
, Nov. 22, 2011. The information regarding Heady’s unit in Vietnam comes from an Internet forum posting that he made in February 2009. That posting has since been deleted.

11
the hijacking of Flight 701:
“Angela Davis Acquitted,”
Deseret News
(Salt Lake City, Ut.), Jun. 5, 1972.

12
granted a private audience:
Willie Roger Holder, interview by author, Aug. 2010.

13
phone line was dead:
Eldridge Cleaver to Michael Cetewayo Tabor, Sept. 24, 1972, Eldridge Cleaver Papers, Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley.

14
had to be “processed”:
Ibid.

15
“Zionism or American imperialism”:
“Cash Hijacked for Causes,”
Oregon Journal
, Jun. 9, 1972.

16
and his gorgeous wife:
Kathleen Cleaver and Canadian Broadcasting Company, acceptance contract, Apr. 14, 1969, Eldridge Cleaver Papers, Bancroft Library, University of California at Berkeley.

17
“billions from the people”:
“Hijacks Hailed by Panthers,”
Spokane
(Wash.)
Daily Chronicle
, Jun. 14, 1972.

18
based on a single glance:
Holder interview. My description of the Algerian presidential palace, popularly known as El Mouradia, was aided by photographs found online at
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1181085
.

19
“want to see your eyes”:
William Newell, interview by author, Sept. 2010.

20
“would be genuinely free”:
“Jet Crew Hijacked to Algiers Flies to L.A.,”
Los Angeles Times
, Jun. 5, 1972.

21
avoid wounding passengers:
“U.S. Bids Airlines Stiffen Resistance to Hijackers,”
New York Times
, Jun. 8, 1972.

22
North African country:
“Pilots’ Union Plans Boycott of Nations That Provide Sanctuary for Hijackers,”
New York Times
, Jun. 7, 1972.

23
the United States for prosecution:
“U.S. Bids Airlines Stiffen Resistance to Hijackers.”

24
because of Holder and Kerkow:
“Pilots Call Strike in Hijack Protest,”
Los Angeles Times
, Jun. 17, 1972.

25
“have to do something”:
“Pilots Halt Flights Abroad, but Strike Falters in U.S.,”
New York Times
, Jun. 20, 1972.

26
as initially feared:
“International Flights Severely Hampered by Pilots’ Strike to Protest Skyjacking,”
Wall Street Journal
, Jun. 20, 1972.

27
“cooperative international efforts”:
Ibid.

28
“100 percent for motherhood”:
“U.N. Must Toughen Stand on Hijacking,”
Deseret News
(Salt Lake City, Ut.), Jun. 22, 1972.

29
his parachute’s rip cord:
“Sky Piracy Episode Smacks of Danger, Futility,”
Chicago Tribune
, Jul. 2, 1972.

30
for the union’s taste:
“Pilots’ Group May Boycott Airports,”
Los Angeles Times
, Jul. 2, 1972.

31
fundamental American right:
“Airline Pilots Set to Strike,”
Spartanburg
(S.C.)
Herald
, Jun. 19, 1972.

32
leave their sight:
Holder interview.

33
the two young Americans:
Cleaver to Tabor.

34
“Students of Revolution”:
Holder interview.

35
the Algerian government:
Cleaver to Tabor.

36
the gentle waves:
Holder interview.

37
and his American wife:
Jean-Michel Caroit, interview by author, Jul. 2012.

38
the money was gone:
Cleaver to Tabor.

39
natural gas to the United States:
Holder interview; “Curbs Rescinded in Gas-Import Bid,”
New York Times
, Oct. 5, 1972.

40
better than to complain:
FBI Legat Paris to acting FBI director, Jul. 14, 1972 (FOIA).

41
statue in Coos Bay:
Ibid.

42
was rightfully theirs:
Cleaver to Tabor.

43
badass revolutionary:
“Coos Bay Woman Would Sell Hijack Story,”
Eugene Register-Guard
, Jul. 21, 1972.

44
Black Panthers to shoot:
Holder interview.

45
probably an FBI informant:
Jean McNair to Roger Holder, Mar. 24,
1972, private collection of Joy Holder.

46
John Dellenback:
“Dellenback Works on Kerkow Telephone Call,”
World
(Coos Bay, Ore.), Jun. 7, 1972.

47
helped hijack Flight 701:
“Coos Bay Woman Would Sell Hijack Story.”

48
access to skyjackers:
“Coos Girl Hijacker Seeks to Sell Story,”
Oregon Journal
, Jul. 20, 1972.

49
“into darkness here”:
Olson interview.

50
all the world to see:
The account of the Nguyen Thai Binh hijacking is primarily based on four sources: “Plane’s Captain Explain Thwarting Hijack,”
Lewiston
(Id.)
Morning Tribune
, Jul. 3, 1972; “When Is Deadly Force Justifiable Against Hijackers,”
Eugene
(Ore.)
Register-Guard
, Jul. 12, 1972; “Hijacker Killed in Saigon; Tried to Divert Jet to Hanoi,”
New York Times
, Jul. 3, 1972; and “ ‘My Only Bomb Is My Human Heart,’ ”
Peace Newsletter
(Syracuse, N.Y.), Aug. 1972, 9.

51
“without loopholes”:
“Pilot Urges Death Penalty to Curb Air Hijackings,”
Bulletin
(Bend, Ore.), Jul. 7, 1972.

52
sitting next to his wife:
The account of the Michael Azmanoff and Dimitr Alexiev hijacking is taken from three sources: Tom Emch, “Anatomy of a Hijack,”
California Living Magazine
, Sept. 17, 1972; “Skyjacking Foiled; 3 Slain,”
Chicago Tribune
, Jul. 6, 1972; and “Three Die in Shootout,”
St. Petersburg Independent
, Jul. 6, 1972. Special thanks to Becky Emch for sharing the excellent
California Living
story, which was written by her father.

53
“out there at the airport”:
“Fast and Harsh Justice Urged for Air Hijackers,”
New York Times
, Jul. 10, 1972.

54
bullet on the brain:
“Lawman Gets Hijacker to Give Up,”
Palm Beach Post-Times
, Jul. 8, 1972; “Hijacker Frightened Into Surrender by CHP Officer,”
Los Angeles Times
, Jul. 7, 1972.

55
Western White House:
“Hijack Checks Extended to All Domestic Flights,”
Afro-American
(Baltimore, Md.), Jul. 15, 1972.

56
loophole at once:
“Security Checks Ordered for Busy Shuttle Flights,”
New York Times
, Jul. 8, 1972.

57
ended in surrender:
“Two Airliners Hijacked,”
Ledger
(Lakeland, Fla.), Jul. 13, 1972.

58
“if my bill is adopted”:
“Senator Seeks Hijack Rein,”
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
, Jul. 21, 1972.

59
a vote of 75–1:
“Senate Backs Broad Curbs on Hijacking by 75–1 Vote,”
New York Times
, Sept. 22, 1972.

60
a quiet death:
“Conferees Snag on Hijacking Bill,”
New York Times
, Oct. 12, 1972.